Danganronpa: The Lone Hope
by El Torro
Summary: 18 Hope's Peak students find themselves trapped in a prison in the middle of the ocean with no memory of who brought them there, or how. Things only get worse when the warden, a walking, talking teddy bear with an insatiable thirst for death and Despair, claims the only way out is to get away with murder. Will anyone survive the torture inside this prison of Despair? (AU, SYOC)
1. Prologue

The Dawn of a New Era had taken the world by storm. It was a call for change - political, societal - that turned society on its head in an instant, and resistance to the movement was futile in the face of its billions of supporters. For the ever-growing minority who dared to fight back against what they called 'The Beginning of the End,' they were snuffed out before the embers of Hope could spread. However, those who converted to the ideology of the majority weren't safe either; even if one was simply _suspected_ of buying into talk of 'The Beginning of the End' they'd disappear.

Over time, voices of opposition that had once vanished began to return as supporters of The Dawn of a New Era. They converted dozens to their side who would all do the same, and with that came an unstoppable force: Despair. It crushed all in its path, starting with the highly-dangerous graduates of Hope's Peak Academy and working its way down to everyday people. Contrary to popular belief, not all of the Hope's Peak graduates were defeated by Despair. For those students, they hid and watched the world crumble before their very eyes until they were sent to safety by an upstart rebel group known as Future Foundation that aimed to bring Hope back to the world and destroy this unprecedented Despair.

You, Class 67, will find yourselves residing in a maximum-security prison in the middle of the ocean. This prison is unlike any other in the country as the only way out is through getting away with murder. There is a fifty foot wall surrounding the prison, and atop every guard tower is a heat-sensing turret to make sure no one escapes. For everyone trapped inside, you're safe from any outside threats but beware of the monsters that are your classmates.

Will you succumb to Despair and murder a fellow classmate to leave the jail, or will Hope guide you to the light at the end of the tunnel?

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 **To everyone who took the time to submit a character: thank you! I planned to wait until mid-August before writing, but with the cast coming together as quickly as it did, I'll start working on the newest chapter right away. Thanks for your support, and I look forward to updating in the near future.**

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 **Hope's Peak Class 67**

 **1\. Toto Shishigo - Ultimate Lion Tamer**

Creator: Colton989

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Birthday: January 29th

Nationality: Japanese

Hair Color: Black

Hairstyle/length: Undercut with a small ponytail

Eye Color: Gold

Skin Tone: Pale

Body Type: Slim but muscular

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: None

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 143 lbs

Normal Clothing: Toto wears a black tank top under a baggy gray hoodie, loose gray harem pants, and black crocs

Accessories: He carries cat toys in his hoodie pocket at all times

* * *

 **2\. Claire Fleener - Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher**

Creator: El Torro

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Birthday: July 12th

Nationality: American

Hair Color: Blood red with two white streaks - the same exact colors as an etch-a-sketch's frame and knobs - running from the roots of her hair to the tips

Hairstyle/length: Claire ties her hair up in a pony tail, and there are two shorter strands of hair on the sides of her head that reach her cheeks

Eye Color: Brick red

Skin Tone: Pasty

Body Type: Thicker than average. She doesn't look fat, just a bit out of shape

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: None

Height: 5'5"

Weight: 137 lbs

Normal Clothing: She wears a silver hoodie that's zipped halfway and covered in pixel-like black lines. Its interior is colored blood red, and under that is a worn-out red t-shirt designed to look like an etch-a-sketch. Claire also wears brown ankle boots and black leggings

Accessories: A pair of fingerless red gloves with white knobs where the back of her hands are and a black case for her etch-a-sketch wrapped around her waist like a belt

* * *

 **3\. Enji Tsukamu - Ultimate Boxer**

Creator: Mayurie

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Birthday: July 13th

Nationality: Japanese

Hair Color: Dark green

Hairstyle/length: Short, messy hair with bangs covering his eyes

Eye Color: Yellow

Skin Tone: Fair

Body Type: He's pretty toned, especially his arm muscles; however, they're hidden beneath his baggy clothes

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: None

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 136 lbs

Normal Clothing: Enji wears a black long-sleeve shirt with silver linings and baggy sleeves tucked into a pair of brown short shorts and a pair of red high-top sneakers

Accessories: A pair of black fingerless gloves and a red crystal pendant necklace hidden under his t-shirt

* * *

 **4\. Ayeka Shinrigaku -** **Ultimate Psychologist**

Creator: Prince PokePersona

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Birthday: June 18th

Nationality: Japanese

Hair Color: Strawberry blonde

Hairstyle/length: Medium-length cut hair that rests on her shoulders and is slightly wavy

Eye Color: Red

Skin tone: Fair white skin

Body type: Skinny with a svelte figure, noticeable curves, and B-cup chest

Scars, Birthmarks, Tattoos, etc.: A frowny face-shaped birthmark on her left inner thigh

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 105 lbs

Normal Clothing: She wears a grey t-shirt with a picture of the human brain in rainbow colors underneath a white vest; a knee-length white ruffle skirt; a pair of mismatching stockings, the one on her left leg being black, and the other is white; dark brown flat shoes with white straps in the shape of question marks; and a dark red short coat

Accessories: A silver necklace with a gold question mark-shaped pendant on the front, a silver bracelet with a clock face that can tell time, and a red headband on her head

* * *

 **5\. Chiharu Shimizu -** **Ultimate Mimic**

Creator: ShibiChiharu

Gender: Female

Age: 15

Birthday: May 11th

Nationality: Japanese

Hair Color: Jade green that is tinted jungle green at the ends

Hairstyle/length: Long, semi-straight hair that reaches below her shoulders and is spikily cut at the ends. Unevenly cut bangs that occasionally cover her eyes

Eye Color: Emerald

Skin Tone: Fair

Body Type: Ectomorph

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: She has a few big scars on her back, and a smaller one on her left palm

Height: 3'9"

Weight: 88 lbs

Normal Clothing: She usually wears a jet black sweatshirt underneath a crimson red hoodie that's a little too big for her and navy blue shorts, plus scarlet red sneakers with white soles

Accessories: The left side of her head, and sometimes face, are covered by a fox max that's tied in the back with a string. She frequently adjusts it if it's getting in the way, and she also has a small ring with an emerald embedded in it on the ring finger of her left hand

* * *

 **6\. Isei Uehashi -** **Ultimate Photojournalist**

Creator: loseroflockers

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Birthday: October 7th

Nationality: Japanese

Hair Color: Dyed silver, and it's brown at the roots

Hairstyle/length: His hair is neat and short, and he combs it over to the left

Eye Color: Brown

Skin Tone: Dark brown

Body Type: Little to no visible muscle, built like a twig

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: He has a mole near his mouth and some freckles on his face

Height: 5'5"

Weight: 125 lbs

Normal Clothing: A white vest over a pink button-up shirt, white jeans, and pink and white shoes

Accessories: Pink glasses, rose earrings, and a white ribbon tied around his neck

* * *

 **7\. Cash Bach -** **Ultimate Entrepreneur**

Creator: El Torro

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Birthday: April 15th

Nationality: American

Hair Color: Black

Hairstyle/length: It reaches the base of his neck and is messy at the top, going in every direction

Eye Color: Green

Skin Tone: Slightly tan

Body Type: Despite his relative lack of height, Cash is built like a brick house. It helps him come off as more intimidating

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: His right bicep is branded with the dollar sign ($) and he has tattoos of each type of bill ($1, $5, etc.) wrapped around his neck

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 170 lbs

Normal Clothing: Cash always dons his nicest, most expensive suit; but he never buttons it up and ripped the sleeves off so that his brandings are on full display. Additionally, he wears the same pair of shoes, which are covered in graphics of $100 bills, and tattered jeans every day

Accessories: None

* * *

 **8\. Fay Kingsley -** **Ultimate 3D Printer**

Creator: BouncingFish

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Birthday: March 16th

Nationality: British

Hair Color: Dark brown

Hairstyle/length: Her hair is not styled in any way; it's just straight. It stops at the backs of her knees. However, when she's working on her art, she ties her hair into a ponytail to avoid dirtying it/damaging it

Eye Color: Blue

Skin Tone: Slightly tan

Body Type: She's somewhere between a beanpole and the average body type. Not particularly fit

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: Has small cuts all over both of her hands and a burn on the palm of her left hand

Height: 5'8''

Weight: 123 lbs

Normal Clothing: A light green beanie; brown sandals; a black belt with a gold buckle; light green capris; a slightly baggy black t-shirt; and a paint-splattered, hooded, white jacket

Sleepwear: Black-and-light blue, checkered, flannel pants; and a white tank top

Accessories: A gold-plated locket. She leaves it in her left pocket and allows the chain to hang out

* * *

 **9\. Koji Nakajima -** **Ultimate Radio Host**

Creator: Orlando Butler

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Birthday: August 31st

Nationality: Japanese

Hair Color: Auburn brown

Hairstyle/length: Crew cut

Eye Color: Bottle green

Skin Tone: Fair

Body Type: Small and skinny

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: None

Height: 4'1"

Weight: 101 lbs

Normal Clothing: He wears a grey long sleeved, button-up shirt with a blue sweater vest over it. He also wears a beige trench coat that covers his sweater vest, has a strap a round the waist, and is buttoned up at all times, in addition to a pair of jeans and white sneakers. He has a microphone pin on the lapel of his coat and black leather gloves

Accessories: He has a beige pork pie hat with a black strap around it and a pair of large black headphones around his neck

* * *

 **10\. Momoko Fujimori -** **Ultimate Fire Breather**

Creator: Orlando Butler

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Birthday: April 10th

Nationality: Japanese

Hair Color: Watermelon pink with fuchsia highlights and black at the roots

Hairstyle/length: Her hair is waist length and in no real style. It's extremely unruly and wild; however, it's extremely fluffy and large

Eye Color: Hazy blue

Skin Tone: Moderate brown

Body Type: Pear-shaped, yet thin

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: She has burn scars up and down her right arm that are hidden underneath her clothing

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 122 lbs

Normal Clothing: She wears a white ruffle shirt and a small black leather vest with bright gold-colored buttons that she keeps unbuttoned. She also has on a pair of oversized silk circus pants with vertical stripes that are colored hot pink and black. Her pair of blue sneakers aren't visible unless she pulls up her pant legs

Accessories: She has red and white feather earrings, multiple bracelets on both wrists, and a pink pearl necklace

* * *

 **11\. Otoha Noguchi -** **Ultimate Astrogeologist**

Creator: Crimson Spider Lily

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Birthday: May 17th

Nationality: Japanese

Hair Color: Dark purple with some hints of blue

Hairstyle/length: Shaggy pixie cut with longer bangs swept to the side

Eye Color: Grey

Skin Tone: Pale

Body Type: Skinny and lean

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: She has some burn marks on her right hand

Height: 5'4"

Weight: 110 lbs

Normal Clothing: Oversized greenish-yellow knit sweater, black pants and green ankle high, high-heeled boots

Accessories: Black choker with a planet pendant

* * *

 **12\. Kaguya Akise -** **Ultimate Cop**

Creator: dougcupcake

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Birthday: February 4th

Nationality: Japanese

Hair Color: Dark blue, almost violet

Hairstyle/length: She likes to have her hair cut short in a pixie cut, but lets her bangs grow long enough to cover her right eye

Eye Color: A pale jade green

Skin tone: She has a light skin tone, which looks paler than it really is because of her dark hair

Body type: She has a slim athletic build and wraps her chest with bandages since being busty doesn't help when chasing down a criminal

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: She has a long vertical scar on her right forearm

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 140 lbs

Normal Clothing: A pair of black jeans, a bright pink belt with a skull buckle, black steel toed combat boots, an Iron Maiden t-shirt, and a black leather duster that goes down to her mid thighs. She also has an actual police uniform she can change into

Accessories: She carries a notepad and pen, mace, her badge, and handcuffs in her duster. Around her waist is her gun holster

* * *

 **13\. Dulcinea Cervantes -** **Ultimate Runner-Up**

Creator: HoppsHungerfan

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Birthday: February 22nd

Nationality: Spanish

Hair Color: Platinum blonde

Hairstyle/length: Pixie cut

Eye Color: Brown

Skin Tone: Lightly tanned

Body Type: Lean with light muscles

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: The Roman numeral for 2 is tattooed on her right shoulder

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 115 lbs

Normal Clothing: She wears a blue tank top and dark green pants

Accessories: Two earrings on each ear

* * *

 **14\. Jackilen "Jackie" Ruben -** **Ultimate Game Reviewer**

Creator: pokemansuperallstar

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Birthday: July 12th

Nationality: American

Hair Color: Dyed cyan blue and black at the roots

Hairstyle/length: Her hair is tied into a single braid on the side of her head, and when it's undone her hair reaches the base of her spine

Eye Color: Amber

Skin Tone: Light beige

Body Type: Jackilen has a slightly chubby body that doesn't really have any muscle, a small bosom, and large hips

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: She has some freckles on her face, as well as a star tattoo on her left cheek

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 130 lbs

Normal Clothing: She wears an unzipped black sweater, which shows her blue t-shirt with a design of Sonic the Hedgehog, along with knit waist woven bootcut jeans and black Roxy Bayshore shoes

Accessories: Jackie carries around a Persona 5 joker mask and a black bag that has the Smash Bros logo on it and is filled with both hand held systems and games, ranging from gameboy advance games to PS Vita games

* * *

 **15\. Gin Arashi -** **Ultimate Lawyer**

Creator: Sh4d0w17

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Birthday: October 13th

Nationality: Japanese

Hair Color: Silvery white

Hairstyle/length: Random patches of his hair stand upright and other patches are pushed down as if they're wet. He also has one single bang that hangs right above his nose

Eye Color: Faded gray

Skin Tone: His skin carries a fair complexion with a slight tan

Body Type: Gin has some muscles and is actually quite lean, but he looks slim due to being so lanky

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: Behind all that spiky hair is a long jagged scar in the back of his head

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 127 lbs

Normal Clothing: Gin usually wears a white dress shirt that is under a long black jacket with a hood that reaches to his legs. Sometimes the jacket will loosely be hanging off his shoulders almost like a cape. This is accompanied by black slacks and white sneakers

Accessories: A colorful beaded necklace

* * *

 **16\. Antonio Ordoñez -** **Ultimate Matador**

Creator: Notadeadguy

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Birthday: September 25th

Nationality: Spanish

Hair Color: Black

Hairstyle/length: Unkempt and short

Eye Color: Baby blue that seems to sparkle

Skin Tone: Tan/Milk-chocolate

Body Type: He is tall and lean with a slightly toned, ectomorphic body

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: None

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 142 lbs

Normal Clothing: He wears a Traje de Luces with a black-and-gold color scheme matched with a red cape that he tied to his shoulders as well as white gloves and glossy black dress shoes. For some reason, he refuses to wear his matador hat

Accessories: An unknown number of roses he keeps to himself

* * *

 **17\. Siyana Ognianov -** **Ultimate Explosives Engineer**

Creator: runicwolf

Gender: Female

Age: 23

Birthday: February 27th

Nationality: Bulgarian

Hair Color: Hazel

Hairstyle/length: Short with no discernible style

Eye Color: Pale red

Skin Tone: Pale white

Body Type: Relatively fit, slim

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: Littered all over parts of her body are burn scars, cut marks, and laceration and puncture scars. The locations of the most severe burning is from the lower right area of her face down her neck to the collar bone, and staggered burn scars further down to the arm and leg on her left side

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 158 lbs

Normal Clothing: She wears a worn out, dull green, full-face two-respirator gas mask; a green legionnaires hat that is slightly torn, a thick blue bomber jacket that has embroidering of the Bulgarian flag on the right shoulder and the symbol of an eye on the left shoulder; a tag on her right chest with her last name, and the left side tagged saying ISEE. The backside of the bomber jacket has a superimposed picture of a wooden plunger angled from the side

Accessories: Black gloves, rucksack, and a black quartz watch

* * *

 **18\. Frances Blackwood -** **Ultimate Alchemist**

Creator: Abitat Eco

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Birthday: November 13th

Nationality: English

Hair Color: A delicate shade of light fawn brown with blue highlights

Hairstyle/length: Long and wavy, reaching to just before her waist with the ends narrowing to meet above the centre of her back, styled with round bouncy curls at the ends of her hair. Two small sections of her hair have been plaited and joined together behind her head, secured with a large pink rose clip to keep them in place, although she lacks a fringe. Frances also has a few other smaller flower clips secured in her hair, in various shades of pink and lilac. When working she will tuck her hair behind her ears or secure it in a wavy ponytail so it does not get in the way of her craft

Eye Color: Emerald

Skin Tone: Pale, almost porcelain

Body Type: Thin and not very muscular or toned with few curves and an average-sized bust for the typical female. She is of a fairly healthy weight for her age. Her face is heart-shaped with a slightly pointed chin; small upturned nose; and thin, subtly arched eyebrows. Her lips are pale pink in color and spread into a small smile. Her ears and other facial features are in perfect proportion

Scars, Tattoos, Birthmarks, etc.: Frances has no scars or tattoos, but she has a fair amount of freckles on her cheeks and a small birthmark on her right shoulder in the shape of a crescent moon, though it's less sharply defined and can almost be seen under her exercise outfit

Height: 5'1"

Weight: 116 lbs

Normal Clothing: Frances wears a lilac-colored chiffon peplum blouse with a v-neck fancy collar; short fluted sleeves; and a blue ribbon tied just under her collar, which is a shade matching the darker blue highlights in her hair. On her lower body, she wears a pair of pale blue trousers rolled up to just under her knees, embroidered with stitching to resemble flowers and butterflies, with side pockets containing various items. Lastly on her feet, she wears a pair of light brown ankle boots with a good sole and grip, with pale pink socks underneath decorated in a floral pattern

Accessories: A pair of special safety goggles that either hang from her neck or - more likely - are positioned on top of her head, a pair of dark blue gloves to cover her hands when working and handling her crafts, a wide brown belt with a silver oval buckle and a store for a blue pouch containing some of her ingredients, and a large brown satchel with straps and buckles. Inside the satchel are multiple recipes; stationary; collecting vials; a photograph; blueberry muffins; and a soft, golden, furry teddy bear named Jupiter that wears a purple ribbon around its neck. She also has a pair of sunflower-shaped earrings


	2. Prologue: Rise and Shine

Accompanied by the rhythmic, sanity-shattering ticktocking of a clock was the shaking of what sounded like sand. The cause of the latter was a young woman who lay sprawled out on the cold, cement floor all by her lonesome. Her eyes bounced up and down, following the gray screen until it stopped moving - or rather, until she stopped shaking it. She ran her right index finger around the red plastic frame once or twice before both of her hands returned to the two white dials located at the bottom of the frame.

There was a brief pause in action that lasted no longer than two, maybe three seconds. She cranked the dials in opposite directions, took a hand off one while twisting the other back around, and tracked the black line that had appeared on-screen even as she turned the knobs at light speed. What started as a segment plopped on the middle of the screen had transformed into the sun setting behind a mountain range that had people climbing it. Then came the shading, and viola - she had created a photo-realistic portrait in under a minute. However, when the young woman glanced at the clock placed on the piss-stained toilet's tank, she pouted.

"Fifty seconds? That's waayyy slower than usual!"

She shook the plastic device a few times, erasing her work, and fiddled with the dials a little while longer.

"C-L-A," she said, dragging each letter out until moving onto the following one. "I-R-E."

Etched on the screen was "CLAIRE," and nothing else. Unlike her previous sketch she didn't use any fancy shading techniques or draw people exploring nature, and yet she was smiling... at a name. Her name.

All of a sudden Claire rolled onto her back with a loud sigh and covered her eyes.

"I'm sooooo boooorrreeeedd! Can you let me out already?" Claire rolled over again in a flash and stared straight ahead at a steel door.

It had a single window at eye-level, but for whatever reason no light filtered through. The room she resided in wasn't devoid of light thanks to one single bulb that hung from the middle of the ceiling, though its constant flickering made it more annoying than useful. On top of that, the dark gray walls made things even worse as they seemed to absorbed nearly all of what little light there was, leaving her with next to nothing.

Claire tapped the concrete floor like she was playing the piano, rose to her feet, and placed her drawing tablet inside the case that was strapped around her waist. Her eyes darted to the right and locked onto a decrepit bed tucked away in the far corner of the room. The mere sight of it made Claire's face scrunch up in disgust, yet she still decided to sit down on the end of it. Then she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"C'MON! LET ME OUTTA HERE ALREADY!"

Crickets.

Claire got up with yet another sigh as she approached the sink, which was directly across from her bed, and turned on the faucet. She splashed her face with some water a few times before looking into the mirror, where an ugly, hopeless expression greeted her. The very moment it did, a loud click came from the steel door and the room was suddenly illuminated.

She shielded her eyes with her arm and turned. Her heart was pounding, almost as if it was trying to leap out of her chest, and then she lowered her arm just enough to see the door opening on its own. Maybe it was the violent pounding of her heart that prompted Claire to bolt towards the light, or perhaps the sudden burst of energy that took over her body was responsible. Regardless, Claire managed to fly through the doorframe. She was finally free from that god-awful room; she could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

One foot landed on the steel floor outside her room, though as the other tried to follow suit Claire slammed into a brick wall and landed in the doorframe on her rear end.

"Owowowow!" She covered her nose with her hand as it throbbed in pain, but that didn't put a stop to the blood rushing down her face. Only after she tilted her head back did Claire get the bleeding under control, and in doing so she raised her eyes just enough to see someone holding out a folded piece of green cloth.

She had no idea they were waiting for her to take it until they waved the cloth in her face, and when she did Claire bowed her head slightly. No words were exchanged the entire time Claire waited for her nosebleed to stop, but that changed the second she no longer needed the cloth.

"Here. I'll help ya up," they said.

Claire flinched.

 _Woah, his voice is soooo raspy. Does he smoke a lot? I bet he smokes a lot. Maybe that changed his voice. Oooooh... what if it was like, super suave? Yeah, I can picture that. What if he started smoking so he could change it? I bet that's right! But why would he want to sound like... that?!_

"Yo! Didja hit your head or somethin'? Hey!" he shouted.

Suddenly she realized he was snapping his fingers right in front of her face, thus she returned to the real world. When she did, Claire saw the hand that had given her the cloth was held out for her once again. She bowed and then took the young man's hand, and when he yanked his arm back Claire actually went airborne for a second.

Although that caught Claire by surprise, she needed just one look at the guy to know how he lifted her like she was nothing. He had a herculean build, which was impossible to miss given the black suit he wore wasn't buttoned up and the sleeves were torn off, putting both of his massive arms on full display. He also stood about a half-foot taller than her, to boot - she guessed he was 6'0", give or take an inch.

Claire craned her neck to meet his gaze and noticed his eyes were the exact same shade of green as a dollar bill. She glanced downward for a split second and back at him, only to glance at what he thought was the ground. It became abundantly clear that _that_ wasn't what she was looking at when he also lowered his gaze.

"Watch where you're goin' next time."

His suit pants were the target of Claire's intense focus, not that he knew why. Was that because he lacked self-awareness? He stayed silent and wore a befuddled expression while waiting for Claire to say something, not once bothering to look at the same thing as her. On second thought, his lack of self-awareness was painfully obvious. Somehow he failed to recognize that, similar to the suit jacket, they were torn at the knees and in terrible condition. Only his shoes were in good condition, but they were covered by pictures of bills that made them look downright stupid.

"Hm? Did you say something?" she quizzed.

The young man's face turned as red as a cherry and the veins in his head popped out before he closed his green eyes and took a deep breath. Once his face returned to its original tan color and his veins were no longer bulging, the young man exhaled. Then his green eyes slowly opened and-

"I asked: Who THE FUCK are you?!" Spit flew from his mouth.

He then slumped over and took a moment to both catch his breath and allow his words to hit Claire over the head. Sure, he failed to quell the unstoppable force that was his rage, but it was through no fault of his own. In fact, he knew the blame fell solely on Claire, so when he finally got his breathing under control he straightened his back and scowled at her. He expected an apology, and told her as much with his body language - anyone would've picked up on that.

"I'm Claire Fleener!" she belted out with a bright smile slapped on her face. "What's your name?"

And just like that, the hardened look in the young man's eyes was gone. He hung his head, listened to Claire giggle at nothing in particular for a little bit, and proceeded to introduce himself.

"It's Cash Bach."

The aforementioned young man took a deep breath and began counting to ten in his head. _Relax. She just got outta that cell, so it makes sense for her to be so... peppy? Yeah, let's go with that. Now, keep your cool and give her another chance to be calm and-_

"Hey, is that short for Cashtopher, like Chris is for Christopher? I bet it is."

...What?

"Soooo Cash or Cashtopher? Wait! I shoulda asked 'Cash or Credit?' Dang!"

As Claire rambled on about how funny her joke was - it wasn't - Cash just stared at her. For the first time in his life he was at a loss for words. He'd never heard such a stupid question before, and it came from a girl he'd literally just met. That was when he remembered hearing someone once say, "you never get a second chance to make a first impression," and boy did Claire need a second chance.

Cash couldn't help but liken the terrible introduction to watching a competitive diver screw up and do a bellyflop: sure, it's memorable, but not for any of the right reasons. That was the hole Claire dug herself into.

Dumbfounded, Cash shook his head and wondered how someone could be so... stupid. He had no time to ruminate on the matter, however, as Claire took a step forward with the same bright smile she flashed from earlier.

"Sooooo what's _your_ Talent, Cashtopher?"

The young man flinched after being jerked out of his thoughts and stared off into the distance. "My Talent?"

Claire nodded.

Cash lowered his gaze and glared at her, the absent expression fading in an instant. "I'm the Ultimate motherfuckin' Entrepreneur. That's _my_ Talent."

His voice was low, much lower than it had been before.

"Cool! It's nice to mee- woah!" Claire scampered over to him and nearly jabbed him in the throat instead of pointing at his neck.

Cash slapped Claire's hand away and stumbled backwards. "The fuck's wrong with you?"

"What're those tattoos of?"

Unlike earlier, Cash didn't try to calm himself down. He simply fought the urge to ring her neck by clenching his fists so hard his knuckles turned white.

"They're all different kinds o' bills," he hissed.

Claire proceeded to poke his arm, only for her hand to be swatted away again.

"Why are your arms branded with dollar signs? Did it hurt, like, reeaallly bad? Y'know, I thought about getting a tattoo or something, buuuut-"

"Shut up."

Much to Cash's surprise, Claire did just that. For maybe a second.

"Buuuut then I was like, 'What if I hate it?' or 'How bad would it get if I got all gross and old, and my skin was suuuper stretchy?' and stuff, so I didn't."

 _This girl's an idiot._ Cash watched Claire flap her gums, his face devoid of any expression. _I gotta get right to the point if I want answers._

"Come to think of it, getting a tattoo's like paying someone to draw on you with permanent marker. It's soooo stupid." She paused and gave him a blank stare."So why'd you get those? Bad investment, if you ask me."

He brought his hands together and clapped thunderously, which put an end to Claire blabbering about... old people? Cash didn't know, he hadn't listened to a single thing she said. That aside, he was finally able to get a word in now that Claire had _finally_ shut up for more than a nanosecond.

"You know my Ultimate Talent, so tell me yours."

The way he spoke made it sound more like an order rather than a request - which it was - not that Claire noticed.

In fact, Cash could've sworn he saw her eyes literally light up from excitement for a second. What was with her interest in talents? Cash kept that thought in the back of his mind, and by the time he returned his attention to Claire she'd taken a plastic toy out of the square case strapped to her hip.

"I'mmmm the Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher!"

Claire held the toy out for Cash to see as her smile stretched across her face. Conversely, Cash's face dropped the very same moment.

The Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher? That hardly qualified as a talent, let alone one worthy of bearing the title of 'Ultimate.' Surely there must've been some kind of mix up, or maybe they ran out of every other kind of Ultimate Talent and were stuck with... _that_. Cash's face twisted, and his body jerked back in disgust.

"Hey, how many other Ultimates do you think there are? I bet they all have super cool talents like us!"

"Yeah... like us. Anyways, we should start lookin' around this place-"

"For other Ultimates?!" Claire interjected.

Cash gave her a confused look. "Sure. But even if we don't find any, it'd be in our best interest to learn about where we are. From what I can tell, this is a run-of-the-mill prison."

"What makes you say that?"

"Look around."

Claire did as she was told and twirled around to take in her surroundings. She and Cash were currently standing on a metal walkway that had thousands of tiny holes poked through it, so they could see an identical walkway directly below. The cells were also in the same spots as the ones on Claire's floor, and there was even a massive window on that floor just like the one right across from Claire's cell.

Then they looked up and saw two more floors above them, both with the exact same layout. So four floors total with four cells on each, one giant window on the opposite wall, and a metal walkway that had a staircase on either end for accessibility to every cell. It was just as Cash had said: they were in a run-of-the-mill prison. Still, Claire felt there was something about the place that was different than other prisons - not that she had any experiences being inside one, but it was a gut-feeling. You know, the kind that tells you 'I don't know why, but I've got a bad feeling.'

She told Cash as much, not that he listened, and went back to examining everything she laid her eyes on. The leaking roof, crumbling brick walls, and squeaking of the metal walkway that followed minuscule shifts in weight caught her attention first, but only for a few seconds each. Then, at long last, something truly interesting caught her attention: a tiny, black hemisphere.

Claire pointed at the thing, as if to signal it's importance to Cash, but he was too caught up in his own examination to notice.

"Cashtopher!"

He jumped. "What?!"

Claire stared at him and pointed a second time.

"What?!" he shouted again.

"Do you see that thing by the door? Like, above it and a little to the left."

He peered at the tiny object in question, scratched his head, and inched forward to better examine it in silence while Claire rocked forward and backward to keep herself entertained.

She continued to do so, oblivious to Cash announcing he'd finished his examination, and repeatedly gave the room sweeping glances until Cash shook her back and forth by her shoulders. Her eyes suddenly lit up with excitement and she broke free from Cash's grasp.

"What is it? Huh? Did you find out?"

Cash looked away from her as she waited for his answer with bated breath. What could it be? There were so many possibilities!

"That's a... uhhh. It's umm... fuck."

Cash rubbed the back of his head and continued to hum until, finally, he sighed.

"I dunno what the fuck that is. Could be a camera or a smoke detector, but I've never seen 'em look like that before."

"Booooring!" Claire sang before suddenly taking off in the other direction, catching her fellow Ultimate off guard.

He stumbled a bit before he regained his footing, and then he watched Claire skip to the end of the walkway at mach speed. With how fast she was going, he had no choice but to put his investigation on hold lest he get left behind.

"Yo! Slow down for a second!"

His words fell on deaf ears as Claire only picked up her pace and flew down the winding staircase.

 _God fucking damnit!_ Cash put his head down and ran after her without another word, making his way down the staircase just as quickly as - if not faster than - Claire. The bottom of the stairs fed into a poorly lit hallway with white brick walls that were covered in dirt, dust, and cobwebs. Cash merely glanced at them and coughed as soon as he started to walk down the hallway, though he kept his eyes up and looked ahead.

He saw Claire spinning around like an idiot up ahead, taking everything in while she continued to move towards the end of the hallway. It didn't matter she passed by a door or a large crack in the wall, if there was something that was even the slightest bit different than the rest of her surroundings, she'd inspect it. Cash peeked inside every one of the doors Claire had opened but not once did he stop moving forward, at least that was the case until he suddenly bumped into her.

"Watch where you're going next time, Cashtopher," she said, quoting him with a sly grin.

Cash almost cracked a smile. Almost.

"My name's _not_ Cashtopher. And why the hell were you just standin' here?"

Like before, Claire simply pointed instead of speaking. Cash turned to his left and faced the door Claire had pointed at, only to look back at her.

"This one didn't open."

"...Okay?"

"I'm gonna break it down." She walked up to the door, lifted her left leg, and kicked as hard as she could.

The door didn't budge an inch, so Claire kicked it again. It still didn't budge, eliciting laughter from Cash while Claire lowered her leg and pouted until she turned to her fellow Ultimate.

"You try."

"Why?" asked Cash as he wiped a tear from his eye, still laughing.

"We're looking around, right? So kick it down," she said with a blank expression plastered on her face.

Cash kept laughing to himself even as he lifted his leg and prepared to kick the door open. The door suddenly flew off its hinges and cracked him in the face just before he could kick it, and he fell on his back while Claire peered through the doorframe and into the room - or, at least she tried to: her view of the room was blocked by a young man who stood just barely above eye-level with her - he was maybe 5'7" or 5'8".

Claire sprung towards him and beamed the instant their eyes met, drawing a scream from the young man as he fell on his rear end.

"Holy moly, someone was in here! You hear that, Cashtopher? Someone was in here!"

"Cl-Cl-Close the d-door...!"

She returned her gaze to the stranger who'd fallen over and waved at him once he looked back up at her. He then brought his hands up to his face and gasped at the sight of the missing door as Cash walked in.

"Hey hey hey! Who're you? Why's your hair green? Did you lock yourself in he-"

Claire's rapid fire questions came to an abrupt end when Cash nudged her out of his way and extended a hand towards the stranger, who recoiled at the gesture. Cash raised an eyebrow when the young man refused his help, instead opting to stand on his own and brush the dirt off his brown short shorts before looking up from the ground.

He was greeted to the sight of Cash and Claire staring directly at him, and he hunched over immediately. It seemed as if he'd shrunk after doing so, and he even began to fidget.

"Wh-Who... are y-you?" the stranger stammered.

Cash and Claire glanced at each other before the latter flashed another ear-to-ear smile and said, "I'm Claire Fleener!"

"Cash Bach."

They stared at the stranger and waited for him to introduce himself, but he continued to fidget and look at anything that wasn't them.

"Soooo who're you?"

The stranger flinched. Then he lifted his gaze and bowed.

"I... uh, m-my name—I-I'm sorry..."

He stopped talking to catch his breath, and a little while later he looked at them once again.

"A-Ah, yes, i-introduction...! M-My name is E-Enji Tsukamu—I-I'm a boxer. I-"

"The _Ultimate_ Boxer?!" interjected Claire.

"I know I d-don't look like it—I'm s-sorry...!"

Enji bowed a second time, much to Cash's amusement, and his fidgeting grew more pronounced once he resumed speaking.

"D-Do you both have Talents, t-t-too...?"

They nodded.

"Eek! I-I-I..." Enji began scratching his wrists as he stammered, refusing to meet either Cash's or Claire's gaze. "I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't mean to b-be rude!" He bowed yet again.

Cash waved off the apology. "Don't worry 'bout it."

Those four simple words allowed Enji to breathe and calm himself down, though he still refused to meet their gaze.

"I'm the Ultimate Entrepreneur."

"I thought you were the Ultimate _motherfuckin'_ Entrepreneur."

All Cash could do was stare at Claire, baffled by her stupidity, which made Enji laugh.

"Oh yeah, I'm the Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher!" she exclaimed all of a sudden before showing off the plastic toy just like she did with Cash.

Still smiling, Enji said, "I-It's nice to m-meet you two."

Both Claire and Cash nodded in response, though the latter decided to extend his hand once again. Enji took a step back and shielded his face with his arms, only to bow as an apology and shake Cash's hand a few seconds later.

"Have you run into anyone else?"

A panicked look swept over the aforementioned young man. "N-No! But I h-heard something g-g-growl at me... A-And it chased me—I'm s-sorry...!"

"So that's why ya locked the door."

"And broke it when we tried to kick it down!"

Enji nodded violently, only to stop when he looked at the doorframe. That's right, he tore down the lone barrier between him and the beast that'd chased him. He tucked his head in between his knees and rocked back and forth, eliciting a sigh from Cash.

At the same time, Claire poked her head through the doorframe and looked down both ends of the hallway. She stepped outside the room, turned around with a smile, and motioned for the boys to follow her before she skipped down the hallway - the same way she'd headed before stumbling upon the once-locked door.

Although he groaned, Cash ultimately followed her outside and waited at the end of the hallway for Enji. The Ultimate Boxer made sure to double-check that the hallway was clear before leaving the empty room, and once he caught up to Cash and Claire he let out a sigh of relief.

"Wh-Wh-Where are we g-going...?"

Claire, who was leading the group, spun on her heels and backpedaled down yet another white brick hallway. "We're gonna look for that scary monster!"

"W-WHAT?!"

* * *

 **Took me long enough, but I'm happy with how the first chapter turned out. There'll be one or two more prologue-type chapters like this as a way to introduce all of the characters before the Killing Game officially gets underway because the main focus of this story will be the characters.  
For those who haven't submitted a character, there are still ten open spots remaining and you can find the form in the previous chapter, as well as my profile.  
Thank you all for reading, and hopefully I'll get the next chapter out within the next week or two.**

* * *

 **Students Met: 3/18**

 _1\. Claire Fleener - Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher  
2\. Cash Bach __-_ _Ultimate Entrepreneur  
_ _3\. Enji Tsukamu - Ultimate Boxer_


	3. Prologue: Meet and Greet

"This is soooooo booorrriiiinnng!"

"What?! We literally just started lookin'!"

"Wow! What's that?!"

"Th-That's a... broom."

"A _magic_ broom? Is there a witch here? Ooooh, did a witch chase you on that broom, Engine?!"

"No... a-and my name is E-E-Enji..."

"That's weird. Your name's weird, E-E-Engine! Were you born on a train or something?"

Cash slammed his head against the wall and Enji scurried to the other side of the room while Claire was, well, being Claire. What did that mean, exactly? For starters, she literally hadn't stopped talking for thirty minutes, and counting; she failed to call either Cash or Enji by their names, though they couldn't tell if that was intentional or not; and she'd get sidetracked for ten or twenty minutes at a time by the dumbest things - like the broom, for example.

As a result, they managed to search just one room: the one Enji hid in. Most of the building was broken up into rooms filled with typical jail cells - you know, the ones with bars - squeezed together and stacked on top of each other, similar to where Claire had been cooped up. Small tunnels ran through all four sides of the rooms and were located on every one of the four floors, likely for easier movement for the prison's guards. And while that was true for the three Ultimates, they also found it too easy to get lost and lose track of where they had been previously, given that every single room looked exactly like the others.

"Is it just me, or is there jack shit in these cells?"

"I-I haven't found anything..."

"D'you find anything, Claire?"

"No siree! No signs of a scary monster in here, either."

Her response generated a sigh of relief from Enji while Cash placed his hands on his hips and surveyed the area once more.

"So all we know about this place is there're a fuck ton'o empty cells, but they're not like the ones we were in."

"We?" Claire asked from across the cell room. "You were in one too?!"

Cash and Enji nodded, the former saying, "I was outta mine a few seconds before you were."

"A-And I was released b-before both of y-y-you..." The Boxer scratched his wrists as he spoke and trembled when he continued. "So was that m-m-m-monster..."

"Awwww, I wish I was let out with the monster. That would've been fun," Claire whined as she buried her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and kicked at the ground like a child would.

She continued to pout as the two boys regrouped by her, though the second they did the sound of a booming roar flooded into the room.

Enji let out a startled scream, Claire slid down the stairs' railing, and Cash stood in place without any sort of reaction.

"E-E-Engine, did that sound like the suuuuper scary monster?"

Enji nodded his head violently.

Claire's eyes lit up in an instant and she took off. "Let's go get it! C'mon!"

"W-Wait! D-D-Don't you think that's a b-bad idea...?"

The Etch-a-Sketcher came to an abrupt stop and stared at Enji, who hunched over and shielded his face with his arms. He waited a few seconds before peeking over his arms, and he let out a startled gasp when he saw Claire's face was suddenly devoid of any emotion.

Even Cash took a step back before saying, "I agree with Enji. We should look for a way out."

"Why would I do something if I thought it was a bad idea?"

Enji lowered his arms and took a deep breath while Cash stood off to the side, dumbfounded. Did he hear that correctly? _Claire_ actually had a thought, _and_ it made sense?

"I bet this'll be suuuuuper fun too!"

And just like that, she went back to skipping and twirling towards the monster's roar with an ear-to-ear smile. Cash followed her while shaking his head, but he glanced over his shoulder after a few steps and noticed Enji had yet to compose himself. He couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh at such a sorry sight, nor could he stand by and remain silent.

"Standing still ain't gonna help ya get outta here. Let's go."

Enji flinched, looked up from the floor, and watched Cash saunter down the hallway. To see someone remain that calm, even in a situation as crazy and confusing as theirs, was nothing short of a relief. With his nerves settled, Enji took off like a bullet and caught up to Cash in an instant.

Cash kept looking straight ahead as he chortled. "Well I'll be damned. You _were_ tellin' the truth back there, after all."

"W-Why would I lie ab-ab-about that...?" Enji stammered as he scratched his wrist.

"Fuck if I know. People say all kinds of shit, sometimes for a bunch o' reasons; sometimes for no reason at all."

The Entrepreneur paused to interlock his fingers behind his neck.

"So why'd you get into boxing?"

Enji immediately looked away from Cash and at the floor. "I-I..." He paused at the perfect time, as a second roar emanated from down the hall and nearly burst his and Cash's eardrums.

"AAAHHH!"

Then a scream from Claire followed, and the two boys bolted down the hallway. When they emerged from the hallway and stepped foot in yet another room filled with empty cells, they saw Claire hunched over and gasping for air while holding her chest. Neither Cash nor Enji thought about looking at their surroundings and instead rushed to Claire's side, and then it happened.

"RRRAAAWWWRRR!"

The monster's roar went off like an explosion, simultaneously deafening and disorienting the Ultimates. They stumbled around and looked for the monster, though they soon found out there weren't any signs of it - or anything, for that matter - being present in the room with them. That is, until someone else finally spoke up.

"Ahahaha! You should see the looks on your faces~"

The voice sounded like it belonged to a little girl no older than five or six years, but no matter how hard Claire, Enji, or Cash tried they couldn't spot them. And then, before they knew it, the person poked their head over the second-floor's railing, laughing manically, and approached them. The left side of their face was covered by a fox mask, oddly enough, though the right looked just as young as their voice sounded.

"Wh-What? Where's the m-monster...?" Enji stammered as he looked every which way.

"Isn't it obvious? _She's_ the 'monster.'"

The little girl stopped halfway down the stairs, stomped, and puffed her cheeks out. "I am _not_ a monster!"

"Yeah, Cashtopher, she's waaayyy too short to be a monster! She's like a lil' munchkin!" exclaimed Claire once the little girl was within a yard of them.

A nasty look was sent Claire's way, not that she noticed.

"Just because I'm short doesn't mean you can look down on me!" the tiny girl shouted, craning her neck to make eye contact with Claire.

"But then I can't see you."

While the little girl fumed over Claire's quick response, Cash decided to interject. "Tell us who ya are and how ya roared like that."

She glanced at him for less than a second, crossed her arms, and pouted.

"I don't wanna."

A vein in Cash's head protruded instantly as he glared at the tiny girl, who was a little taller than his waist - or a bit over 3'6".

"Listen here, ya little-"

"That's okay, we'll just leave you here alone."

Claire grabbed Cash by the arm and motioned for Enji to follow as she headed for the tunnel to the left of the one she entered.

Only after they began to disappear down the tunnel did the little girl finally call for them to come back, and when they did she greeted them with a scowl.

"I'm... Chiharu Shimizu." She lifted the fox mask so that it was only covering part of her head, revealing a few jade green bangs that nearly reached her left eye.

Chiharu didn't speak another word, and instead stared at each of Claire, Cash, and Enji.

"It's common courtesy to exchange names-"

"Name's Claire Fleener, and I'm the Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher! These are Cashtopher, the Ultimate _motherfuckin'_ Entrepreneur; and E-E-Engine, the Ultimate Boxer!"

"It's Cash, not Cashtopher."

"A-And Enji, not... E-E-Engine..."

There was a moment of silence, during which Chiharu nodded and muttered something to herself while looking at each of the three Ultimates. Then she crossed her arms again and said, "I'm called the Ultimate Mimic. Basically, I can mimic any voice I hear."

"Soooo you _did_ hear a scary monster in here! Otherwise you couldn't have mimicked it!"

"Were you listenin'? She can only mimic _voices_."

Chiharu shook her head. "No, she's right. I heard something roar like that earlier, figured mimicking it would attract people."

"Wh-Why would that attract p-people...?"

"You should be asking yourself that."

She had a point there, kind of. Her mimicking the monster was a small part of what brought Enji and Cash to the room they were currently in; whereas the big, and perhaps _only_ , reason was Claire. Speaking of whom, she'd been strangely quiet - for her standards - since running into Chiharu.

Cash glanced Claire's way to see her speaking to herself while fiddling with her Etch-a-Sketch. Whatever she was doing seemed rather... intense, so he left her to her own devices and returned his attention to Chiharu.

"Hey, were you stuck in a cell that was different from these?" asked Cash.

She nodded, but she didn't elaborate. Getting answers from her was going to be like pulling teeth, wasn't it?

"How long ago were you let out?"

"I dunno."

"Was anyone released with you?"

"Probably. I didn't stick around to check."

"Have ya found anything since ya got out?"

"Uh uh."

 _Fuck it, I give up!_ Cash thought as he sighed and slid his back against the wall until he was sitting. _All o' these fucking rooms look the same, and we don't know where the fuck we are. What're we s'posed ta do?_

He ran both of his hands through his hair while trying to think of an answer, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't come up with one.

"Cash Cow? Hey, you okay?"

A hand fell on Cash's shoulder and shook him out of his trance. He turned to face Claire and was greeted with a smile, which he almost returned. Almost.

"The fuck kind o' nickname is 'Cash Cow'?"

"Hm? It's a play on words. A cash cow's-"

"I know what a- ahhh, fuck it. Whaddya want?"

Despite poor wording, Cash was able to convey his genuine interest through his tone. Claire's smile was evidence of that, as she seemingly understood the true intent and nature of his question.

All of a sudden, she flipped her Etch-a-Sketch around and showed Cash what she'd drawn. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he looked over the drawing and then up at Claire. It was a perfect recreation of the area where they'd met a short while ago, detailing each of the sixteen cells and even the hemisphere they spotted. To put it simply, the drawing was nothing short of spectacular.

"Soooo ya know how all four of us said we were locked in those until now?"

"Mhm."

"Weeellllll that means there're twelve other cells, and I bet there's an Ultimate - like the four of us - in each of 'em!"

Once again, Cash felt his eyes nearly shoot out of their sockets. He got up in a flash and grabbed Claire by her shoulders, shaking her violently with a slight smile. "We just hafta find the other twelve people! That's what you're saying, right?"

"We-e-e-ell ye-e-eah, bu-u-u-ut..." Claire said as Cash shook her back and forth until he noticed what he was doing.

"But?" he asked, tucking both hands in his pants pockets.

Claire leaned on her side against the wall and took a moment to regain her sense of balance, much to Cash's embarrassment.

"Engine said he was released with the scary monster, and you said we were let out together, right?"

"Yeah, but what does that-"

"I bet some people are still in there! And we could find whoever got out with Gee-Who-Are-You."

 _How did ya butcher her name that badly?_

"You're smart, so what do you think we should do?"

Cash turned his back to Claire and walked away without answering, causing her to sigh and hang her head.

"Enji! Chi... uh... You! We're goin' ta the cells we were locked in, right now!"

Enji trembled at the thought and struggled to lift his head so as to make eye-contact with Cash. "B-B-But why...? I don't want to go b-back there...!"

"Claire's idea. She'll tell ya about it on the way."

Next up was Chiharu, who staggered towards Cash. "My name's Chiharu! Chi-har-ooh! Got it?!"

"I don't give a fuck."

Cash headed for the exit without another word, leaving them both in stunned silence, and on his way out he nodded at Claire. She could've swore she saw him smiling as he passed her by, and she felt herself smiling like an idiot until Enji and Chiharu asked her about the plan. But not just any plan, _her_ plan.

She relayed the information to them for the next few minutes as they followed Cash, and their reactions to her drawing were just like his.

"Th-That's amazing, Claire...!"

"Wo~oow! It's so pretty!"

"Thanks!" Claire exclaimed before shaking her Etch-a-Sketch, thus erasing the drawing.

Chiharu and Enji could only watch in horror as Claire simply tucked the plastic device back in its protective case and acted as if nothing happened, at least until she was questioned about her actions.

"Why w-would you erase that...? I-It was fantastic...!"

Claire shrugged. "That was just a rough sketch."

"'Just a rough sketch'? You're so~ooo lying!"

As Chiharu and Claire bickered over whether or not the latter was lying, Cash laughed to himself and remained at the front of the group. They passed through a handful of cell rooms, one after another, until suddenly finding themselves in the hallway where they'd met Enji, and before they knew it they were back where they started.

"What floors were ya on?"

"The th-third floor."

"Fourth~"

"Interestin'," Cash muttered, stroking the non-existent beard on his chin.

Chiharu titled her head to the side. "Wha~aat is?"

"Me an' Claire were on the second floor."

This time it was Enji's turn to ask a question, which became quite obvious to the others once he started scratching his wrists and fidgeting. "S-So...? Is that supposed t-to matter...?"

The Entrepreneur nodded.

"Weellll, if you think about it suuuper hard," Claire said, "me and Cashtopher got let out together."

Again, Cash nodded. He figured she'd explain since she brought it to his attention, anyways.

"R-Right..." Enji stammered.

"That's gotta mean second floor's the best floor! Woohoo!"

Cash's face dropped, and Chiharu and Enji turned to each other in utter confusion. Claire was back to being... Claire, and for that very reason Cash had to step up as the leader.

He cleared his throat, unintentionally drawing the others' attention. "It's interestin' that neither o' ya saw who ya were released with. That means we know there're at least two more people in this place."

"Bu~uuut what if we were released by ourselves? If anything, it's _interesting_ that you and Claire were released together," Chiharu said. She then adjusted her fox mask so that it covered the left side of her face and tilted her head, waiting for a response.

She and Enji watched Cash close his eyes and take a deep breath, a sight Enji had grown all too familiar with during the limited time he'd known him. As such, the Boxer was quick to provide an out for Chiharu.

"Y-You don't mean a-anything bad by th-that, right...?" he asked, trying to force a smile.

"Good point, Chiharu; I hadn't thought o' that," Cash said calmly, much to Enji's surprise. "I say we wait here ta see if more people are released, and if they're let out together."

 _CLICK!_

Everyone's ears perked up in unison as the first-floor door furthest to the right - and nearest them - suddenly opened.

Seconds later, a young woman stepped outside shielding her eyes with the light green beanie on her head. She was about an inch taller than Enji and an inch or two shorter than Cash - so between 5'8" and 5'9" - with straight dark brown hair that stopped at the backs of her knees. Her hands remained in the pockets of her white paint-splattered jacket even after she saw the strangers standing a few yards away.

Before the young woman could get a word in, the door next to her made a clicking sound and opened almost immediately. A second young woman who had a pixie cut and was a couple of inches shorter than the first - perhaps 5'6" - sprung out of her cell sporting a blue tank top and dark green pants. She had a certain energy about her that was both oppressive and filled with intensity, and it could be felt from anywhere in the room.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs before squaring up like a boxer. "IF YOU COME AT ME, I SWEAR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

The taller young woman rolled her eyes and, without saying so much as a word, began to walk away.

"Stop right there!" Cash barked, reminding everyone of a police officer.

He marched over to her with a scowl, only to receive a disinterested expression in return. It was impossible to tell whether or not she was waiting for him to continue, and everyone watched him crumble under the pressure of her gaze.

"Who are ya, and where are ya going?"

The young woman didn't bother to respond; instead, she just continued to stare at him with that blank expression of hers. Everyone kept quiet and still while watching the interaction, which Cash and the woman were well aware of.

"I'll go first. My name's Cash Bach, and I'm the Ultimate Entrepreneur. Now it's your turn."

Silence.

"Now it's _your_ turn," Cash said, this time with a bit more anger than before.

Once again, silence. The veins in Cash's head protruded all at once and he breathed through his nostrils like a wild animal, yet he refused to speak a third time without a response.

"If you're done wasting my time by acting like a two-year-old, I'd like to find a means of escape," said the young woman.

Her words struck like a hammer, and Cash took them like a nail. There was simply no coming back from such a comment, all you could do was take it and carry on like nothing ever happened.

Then Claire decided to butt in.

"Excuuuuse me!" she shouted, waving her arms like an idiot as she ran towards the young woman. "It's suuuuuper rude to not give someone your name when they give you theirs."

The young woman rolled her eyes and attempted to walk away, but Claire grabbed her arm.

"Unhand me this inst-"

"I'm Claire Fleener, the Ulllltimaaaate..." She let go of the young woman's arm and opened the protective case on her hip. "Etch-a-Sketcher!"

Claire held the plastic toy out for the young woman, whose face dropped.

 _How is THAT an Ultimate Talent?!_

Oddly enough, the expression on her face slowly became less disgusted as she eyed the toy in Claire's hands.

"So I'm not the only one who appreciates the arts, then? Good."

"What do you mean?"

The young woman scoffed. "Few people realize how important art is to a nation's culture. Artists depict important topics, subjects that no one else will talk about. If we don't do it, who will?"

"Uh... comedians?"

The young woman's expression returned to one of disgust, and she started to walk away again.

"HEY, ASSHOLES! WHAT ABOUT ME?!"

Although Enji and Chiharu hadn't spoken to the other woman like Claire and Cash had, they knew they were being referred to so they shifted their attention to the shorter one.

"Who a-are you...?" Enji mumbled, refusing to meet her intense gaze.

"Dulcinea Cervantes! And unlike you assholes, I don't have an amazing Talent."

The room fell silent.

"Wooooow, that sucks. What's it like being untalented?" Claire inquired tactlessly.

Everyone deadpanned and the same thought went through their minds: _what did you just do?!_

On the other hand, Dulcinea's blood came to an immediate boil as she screamed, "Fuck you, bitch! I am NOT untalented!"

"Then what's your not-amazing Talent?" Claire asked, tilting her head.

Dulcinea clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.

"I was given the 'title' of Ultimate Runner-Up."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Dulcinea surveyed the room and tapped her foot against the floor. Clearly, she wanted someone other than herself to break the ice, but she was ultimately left fuming in the corner when everyone went back to focusing on the still-nameless woman.

"Would ya just tell us who ya are already?" Cash asked, drawing an eye-roll from said woman.

"If I comply, will you no longer pester me?"

Cash and Claire nodded, as did Enji and Chiharu once the young woman looked their way. She then groaned a second later, straightened her posture, and cleared her throat as if she was about to deliver a presentation.

"My name is Fay Kingsley, the Ultimate 3D Printer. Will that suffice?" she asked rhetorically, though Cash still nodded.

With that, Fay turned her back to the group and headed for the winding staircase in silence. By the time she reached the first step, she heard a pair of footsteps right behind her and turned around. Dulcinea and Claire stood there waiting for Fay to turn back around and head up the stairs, but she continued to stare at them.

"What on Earth are you doing?"

"Investigating the second floor," Dulcinea replied, prompting Fay to let her pass by. The Runner-Up wasted no time flying up the stairs and jumping right into detective mode the instant she arrived at the nearest door.

Fay reverted her gaze back to Claire shortly thereafter and repeated her question.

Claire giggled, then exclaimed, "Following you!"

Fay rolled her eyes and turned around. "I don't have time for this nonsense," she spat, scaling the stairs until she also got off at the second floor.

Emanating from behind Fay yet again was the sound of Claire's footsteps, which prompted her to stick her hand out like a crossing guard even as she marched towards the floor's white-bricked hallway.

"Hey! We're supposed to stick together and find everyone!" Claire shouted to Fay, cupping her hands around her mouth.

Her cries fell on deaf ears, as Fay simply ignored her and continued down the hallway without ever turning around. Claire folded her arms and pouted like a child, though when she glanced back at the others none of them looked too distraught over Fay going solo.

"What a bitch," said Dulcinea.

She cracked a smile and eyed Claire, almost as if she was waiting for her to laugh before joining in. The laughter never came, however, leaving a dejected Dulcinea to cuss under her breath while Claire talked to the others.

"Soooooo should I go after... What's her name? Fake? That's a weird na-"

"Claire, shut up; her name's _Fay_! And no, do _not_ go after her!" Cash snapped.

"Why?"

While the Entrepreneur pinched the bridge of his nose and counted to ten, Enji waved at Claire to get her attention.

"Uh, sh-sh-she didn't seem like a t-team player."

Chiharu nodded at the still-trembling Enji and added, "Plu~uuus, she said _not_ to follow."

Claire brought her index finger up past her chin and rested it there, looking off into the distance as if she was deep in thought. Suddenly, she pivoted on her right foot so that she was facing Dulcinea and snapped her fingers to get the Runner-Up's attention.

Still muttering obscenities to herself, Dulcinea stopped investigating her surroundings to glance over her shoulder with a furious expression.

"Whaaat?" Dulcinea was so angry she ended up growling like a dog, eliciting a hearty round of laughter from Claire.

"Dooo yooou..." The Etch-a-Sketcher dragged out both words and bobbed her head from side to side. "Dooo yooou... wanna come with us?"

Although Claire could barely see Cash, Enji, and Chiharu out of the corner of her eye she could tell from their shadows that they approved of her question.

Dulcinea flinched.

"Join... _you guys_?"

Claire nodded like an idiot, messing up her hair in the process, but she stopped all of a sudden and peered down the white-bricked hallway.

Meanwhile, Dulcinea slowly looked over the area she'd just started investigating and let out a deep sigh. It didn't seem as if there was a right - or wrong - answer, which made responding to Claire that much more difficult, though she was certain she didn't want to be seen in the same light as Fay. Then, without a moment's hesitation, she answered.

"Pfft! Like I'd want to spend my time with you assholes!"

She stuck her nose high up in the air and snickered at the lack of a response, stunning as it was.

Conversely, the other Ultimates shook their heads and tried getting Claire to do the same - or, at least Enji did while Cash sat against the wall opposite the cells and closed his eyes. As for Chiharu, she alternated between offering Enji a hand and trying to get Cash to contribute in some manner.

The tiny girl took her eyes off Claire for just a moment as she approached Cash and shouted, "He~llo! We could really use your help right now!"

One of Cash's eyes cracked open ever-so-slightly and locked onto her in a split-second. She saw that the look on his face had hardened considerably, though for whatever reason she pressed on without so much as a second thought and leaned in once she grabbed the torn sleeve of Cash's suit.

"What should we be doing right now?"

He slapped Chiharu's hands away in the blink of an eye and brushed the dirt off his sleeve in silence. Once he was done doing that, Cash interlocked his fingers and rested the lower-half of his face against them with a disgruntled huff.

" _Don't_ touch the suit."

There was a chill in the air after he spoke, which was likely the cause of Dulcinea, Enji, and Chiharu shivering in unison. He noticed as much, and yet he refused to put on a nicer face.

"I'm waitin' ta see if there'll be more releases; and I'm plannin' our next moves if there are, or aren't, any."

Cash's eye closed less than a second later, and by the time Chiharu noticed that she threw her arms towards the ground and stomped away. At the same time, Dulcinea gave up on shooing Claire away, both in general and from the area she was investigating.

They both squatted a few inches away from the door nearest the winding stairs and inspected everything there was to inspect - the metal flooring? the door? the metal flooring again? Check, check, and check again. With that being the case, why was it so hard to put any of the puzzle's pieces together? Surely there must've been a clue around that could give them _some_ idea of where they were, and why they were there.

The two of them continued to pick at nothing within in arm's reach under the guise of investigating, though that didn't last very long.

"RAAAAWWWWR!"

Fay sprinted out of the white-bricked hallway covered in sweat, veered right, and crashed into both Claire and Dulcinea just outside the hallway. She and the other girls found themselves tangled in a mess of limbs and struggled to get all sorted out, let alone back on their feet. Right as they did, Fay booked it for the staircase at the other end of the metal walkway and left them behind without any warning of what was headed their way.

Enji and Chiharu alternated between looking at her and the hallway she came barreling out of until the former caught sight of a black figure bounding down the hallway. He backed away in a panic, tripped over his own two feet, and landed on his rear, but none of that stopped him from trying to crawl as far away from the black figure as he could.

Chiharu covered for her fellow Ultimate and spotted the black figure right away.

"RUN! RUUUN! IT'S THE MONSTER!"

 **000**

 _First, they locked me up in a prison; then they let me out of my cell, without any instructions; and now not only can I roam free, but I can also find other Ultimates here? This place is..._

"Hey! Hey, Jackie! Hey! Over here!"

Jackie paused her train of thought and strolled over to whomever had called her name. She sat down on an empty bench next to a girl who was sprawled out on the grass, yawned, and let her head fall back to gaze at the bright blue sky. There wasn't a single cloud overhead, and the only sound to come from outside the prison's walls was that of waves breaking.

 _I know we're out in the ocean, but something feels... off_. Jackie rubbed her forehead and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Heyyy! Jackayyy!"

"Hm?"

Jackie cracked one eye open and looked at the smiling girl. She hadn't noticed it until then, but after looking at the girl's oversized silk circus pants Jackie could only picture her as a clown.

"What're you thinking about? You're SO quiet!" the girl asked as she rocked back, then forward and into a sitting position.

"Oh, it's nothing... I guess."

"You 'GUESS'?! C'mon, now I HAAAAAVE to know!"

Rather than go back and forth with the clown-looking girl, Jackie leaned her head back and closed her eyes again. Not even a second later her eyes shot open when she felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders, which shook her like mad until she broke free from their grasp and jumped out of her seat.

All of a sudden, Jackie regained her composure. "What was that for?"

"I was trying to shake some sense into you, Miss Ultimate Game Reviewer!"

"That... that's not a thing."

"It is if you're the Ultimate Motivator!"

"Which you're not, 'Miss Ultimate Fire Breather.'"

The cheery girl put her index finger up to her lips and shushed Jackie, who closed her eyes and leaned her head back in response. The cheery girl also returned to laying sprawled out on the grass, though she soon began to examine the buildings surrounding herself and Jackie.

There wasn't a single word exchanged between the girls for the next however-many minutes until, suddenly, Jackie got up from her seat on the bench and turned every which way while looking around.

"Do you hear that?" she whispered to the other girl, who was busy picking the grass. "Momoko!"

The other girl, Momoko, flinched at the sound of Jackie's voice and rolled onto her back, asking, "What's up?" Her question was answered in an instant, as both a high-pitched scream and menacing roar rang throughout the courtyard.

Momoko and Jackie turned to each other, the former with fire in her eyes, and ran in the direction of the scream. The sound of their shoes hitting the concrete was like that of a bomb going off, which would've made it difficult for the girls to keep an ear out for another scream or roar had they needed to. Fortunately for them, they reached the entrance to the building from where the scream and roar came, and they charged inside.

There were two hallways, one with white-bricked walls and the other with red-bricked walls that looked as if they'd been freshly painted, freezing Jackie and Momoko in place. Their eyes darted left and right between both hallways, and when Momoko started to move her legs Jackie threw an arm out to stop her.

Jackie then held one finger up, telling the other girl to keep still for a moment, and cupped her left hand around her left ear.

"RAAAAWWWWR!"

Both girls jumped, though Jackie was quick to react after hearing where the roar came from. "This way!"

She waved for Momoko while dashing down the white-bricked hallway, and before either of them knew it, they emerged from the dusty hallway and walked into the very first room they'd ever been in: the one with sixteen cells.

Those were exactly what Jackie first looked at the instant she stepped foot in the room.

"Hey, Momoko, how many of those doors were open when you got out?"

"Hmmm... mayyyybe four. Why?"

"Now ten ar-"

As if on cue, the two closed doors on the first floor swung open at the same time. While Jackie kept her distance, Momoko hurried over to the doors and poked her head inside both for a second each.

"We don't have time for this, Momoko! We need to find out where those screams came from!"

"WOW! People are in these! Did you hear that, Jackie?! PEOPLE are in these!"

"I'm sure there are. Now can we- wait, what?!"

Jackie rushed over to Momoko's and peeked inside both cells, which were just as disgusting and horribly lit as her's was. Two boys suddenly stepped out from them, shielding their eyes until they adjusted to the light.

One was easily a foot taller than the other, maybe even a foot-and-a-half, yet despite his size his face looked much younger. His shirt, if you could even call it that, was unlike anything Jackie and Momoko had ever seen - it had a black and gold color scheme, which went well with the red cape tied to his shoulders. His baby blue eyes locked on to Jackie, and he grabbed her hand before she could even blink.

"Your eyes... they sparkle like the diamonds in the sky! They are gorgeous, just like you." He then pulled a rose out of thin air and offered it to Jackie, who blushed. "Be my girlfriend!"

Momoko's and the shorter boy's jaws dropped as they watched Jackie struggle to grab ahold of the rose, both thinking, _This guy's got balls!_ Even if there was no attraction whatsoever, how could anyone say no to the guy when his approach was that direct? You almost _had_ to say yes out of sheer respect for his courage.

"Thanks for the compliment, but ask me out properly first. Then _maybe_ we could talk."

Although Jackie said them jokingly, her words still delivered a gut-punch that even Momoko and the short boy felt. The tall one, however, laughed the rejection off and let go of Jackie's hand. How was he not crushed?

"So who are you, anyway? Usually people know each other's names before they ask each other out."

The tall boy leaned back and laughed, displaying his pearly white teeth. "Haha, that's not necessary when you're as handsome as I am."

Jackie stopped smiling, whereas Momoko nodded in agreement with the rebuttal.

"Sounds like someone's compensating," the shorter boy muttered just loud enough for Momoko to hear, which elicited a fit of laughter from her.

"I am the Ultimate Matador, and my name is Antonio Ordoñez. Be sure to remember it, baby."

"Yeah... I'll try," Jackie replied before shifting her gaze to the shorter boy.

There wasn't much to look at in terms of clothing - he wore a beige trench coat that covered his upper-body and had a microphone pin on the lapel; a pair of jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. His accessories were a different story, however, as he donned a beige pork pie hat with a black stripe around it, and a pair of large black headphones around his neck.

"This situation just gets more and more irritating by the second." He sighed and extended his hand, which was hidden inside a black leather glove that also had a mic pin on it. "But where are my manners? Koji Nakajima: Ultimate Radio Host."

As Jackie went to shake Koji's hand, Momoko shoved her out of the way and jumped up and down after grabbing his hand.

"You mean THE Koji Nakajima?! You're REALLY him?!"

Koji gave an awkward smile as he nodded and tried to pull his hand away, only for Momoko to hold on even tighter. Antonio and Jackie, meanwhile, watched in confusion until the latter interrupted.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but who is he?"

Momoko finally let go of Koji's hand when she spun on her heels, so she didn't see him bury his hands in his trench coat pockets with an unamused expression.

"Only the host of the biggest radio show in Japan: Koji Hour!" The lack of a reaction from either Jackie or Antonio left her speechless.

"It must be because I'm American. Sorry if I offended you," Jackie said.

"And I'm from Spain, so the same goes for me," added Antonio.

Koji waved off the apology and started towards the winding staircase. "Doesn't bother me. Life, and everything that comes with it - fame, money, power - means nothing." He kept an eye on the others and took in their befuddled reactions with a smirk as he made his way up the stairs.

"RAAAAWWWWR!"

All four of them stopped what they were doing to look in the direction from which the roar came. Momoko and Jackie then glanced at each other and darted towards the staircase while Antonio and Koji remained frozen - perhaps by fear, shock, confusion, or some combination of the three.

As both girls passed by him, Koji turned around and asked, "Are you two actually going _towards_ that?"

"We heard someone scream before we found you guys, so yeah," Jackie replied as she sprinted to the other end of the metal walkway and turned right, disappearing down the hallway along with Momoko.

Antonio also scaled the staircase nearest that hallway, and opposite Koji, but he stopped running once he was on the second floor. His legs shook like jelly as he listened to their footsteps grow quieter with each passing second. He took a deep breath while beads of sweat rolled down his head. Then he gave chase.

Koji, having watched the sequence of events, shook his head. "Idiots."

 **000**

"Quick! Get in!"

Dulcinea grabbed Claire by the arm, yanked her inside an empty square-shaped room, and started to close the door until Fay crashed into it with her shoulder. She stumbled inside and fell on her face, though fortunately for her Dulcinea slammed the door shut just as they caught a glimpse of a massive black figure charging at them.

 _CRACK!_

"Rrrgh," the monster growled. The girls could see its shadow from underneath the bottom of the door, and it seemed to stumble around a bit as it fled.

Fay and Dulcinea audibly exhaled in relief before the latter pressed her back against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the cracked concrete floor, gasping for air. Fay continued to lay on her stomach and also struggled to catch her breath. Then there was Claire, who, unlike her fellow Ultimates, hadn't broken a sweat. She stood on the opposite side of the tiny room with her face pressed against one of three bar-covered windows, mindlessly gazing outside at the courtyard like a zombie.

They remained like that for the next ten or fifteen minutes, with Dulcinea and Fay keeping an ear out for the monster while Claire stared into space. Then, without warning, Dulcinea slapped her hands against the floor.

"WHAT... THE FUCK... WAS THAT THING?!" she yelled in between breaths.

Fay flipped over and onto her back. "Quiet down, you buffoon."

"It doesn't matter how loud I am, that thing knows we're in here."

"It does now that you've gone and screamed like a banshee." Fay sat up, stared at Dulcinea, and clapped without making a sound. "Congratulations, Runner-Up. Your idiocy has not only put your life in danger, but ours as well."

Dulcinea's chin jutted out and her arms shook violently after she balled up her fists. "Go fuck a jackhammer, bitch!"

Her words bounced around the room like rubber bullets fired from a gun. An awkward silence fell over the room and only became more awkward due to the girls' refusal to look in every direction except each other's. Every so often they'd glance at each other, scowl, and look at something else, only to end up doing the same thing less than a minute later.

Hearing Claire groan all of a sudden drew both Fay's and Dulcinea's attention. They watched her turn around very slowly and inched away upon seeing her expressionless face.

"You two aren't fun. I'm leaving."

"Fun? How does such a thing take precedence over survival?" Fay snapped.

Claire ignored her question and headed for the door, the latter of which broke Dulcinea's silence and prompted her to rise to her feet.

"Hold on a sec, we don't know if that thing's waiting right outside for us."

Fay scoffed, drawing a glare from the Runner-Up. "Now you care about that? How rich."

With Dulcinea taking the bait and firing back with an insult of her own, Claire slipped outside and closed the door with a sigh. She looked down both ends of the hallway and saw nothing resembling the monster, so she turned right since that was the way she, Dulcinea, and Fay were running before they had to take shelter.

As Claire twirled around she scanned every inch of the hallway, which had nothing but brick walls covered in dirt, cobwebs, and some random brownish-red splotches. She dragged one hand along the wall and her face scrunched up when she saw the residue on her fingers.

 _Wowzers - this place is groooooossss!_

She wiped her fingers with her black leggings, but she didn't notice that left trails of the residue on them.

 _How do I get outside? Is it this way? I bet it's this way. I wonder where that big, scary monster is. Getting chased by it was sooooo much fun! Too bad that runner-girl made us hide. That's sooooo boring! I hope there's another fun person here. That would be suuuuuper fun! Wait, where am I?_

Claire stopped and spun around to take in her surroundings. Instead of the bricks being painted white they were blue, and there were three doors scattered down the hallway with two on the left side and one on the right. She approached the nearest one and reached for the handle, but she paused as her eyes lit up.

Unlike every other door she'd come across up to that point, this one seemed to have a "theme" of sorts. There was some sort of chart drawn on it with a bunch of random letters thrown together - such as Cu, Ag, and Au, among a hundred others.

She jerked her hand back and ran towards the other doors. _Ooooh, do those have designs too? I bet they do!_

The second door was painted black with a gold trim, and a bull's head had been printed in the center of it. Additionally, the bull's eyes were painted bright red, though compared to the previous door it was terribly underwhelming.

Claire then reached the end of the hall and examined the last door, which only had the face of a lion etched into it. "Well this one's super-duper boring! Is the inside like that too?"

Upon grabbing hold of the door handle, Claire felt her ears twitch when an unfamiliar sound sprang up from out of nowhere. She turned to see what it was and suddenly let go of the door handle when a massive black feline crept forward with a low-pitched growl. It locked its emerald green eyes onto Claire, who turned to face the feline before slowly placing her hand back on the door handle.

The feline snapped its jaws immediately, prompting Claire to put her hands up as if she was being held at gunpoint, and it licked its lips. It quickly shifted its weight to its hind legs. It was at that moment Claire realized the feline was going to pounce. Her heart started pounding and sweat rolled down her brow. Was she about to die? It didn't feel like it, but she had to consider it since the threat was literally staring her down.

 _CLICK!_

"RAWR!" the feline roared as its eyes shot open.

It spun around a nanosecond later, or at least it tried to before suddenly falling on its side. Claire tilted her head and eyed the feline, whose legs were cuffed together, until she saw an unfamiliar girl squat and take notes right in front of the snarling feline without ever flinching.

"What're you goggling at?"

Claire flinched. The girl hadn't even looked at her, and yet she knew Claire was staring. Judging by the sound of her voice, she wasn't too happy with that.

"That big cat! How'd you cuff its legs?!"

Suddenly, the girl cracked a toothy smile and turned to Claire. "Relax! I'm just fucking with you!" she exclaimed after standing up. "Did this pussy take a bite outta you?"

"No siree Bob!"

She simultaneously nodded in response and wrote something down in her notepad, before running a hand through her dark blue hair. In doing so, her duster opened up just enough for Claire to see a police badge sticking out of a pocket and a gun holster strapped to her hip.

"Holy moly! Is that a police badge? Are you a policewoman?! An ULTIMATE policewoman?! I'm Claire Fleener, the Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher!"

Claire leaned forward with a twinkle in her eyes and invaded the girl's personal space, not that she seemed to mind.

"Hm? No, I'm the Ultimate Cop. Name's Kaguya Akise."

"Hey, can I shoot your gun?!"

"Eh... sure, why not?"

Claire jumped up and down, giddy with excitement.

"But you have to draw me like one of your french girls in return."

"SurewhateverIdon'tcarejustgimmethegun!"

Kaguya leaned back and laughed while Claire continued to jump and down out of excitement.

"Hahaha! I'm just fucking with you, Claire. I don't have my gun with me," she said while displaying her empty holster.

The Etch-a-Sketcher froze. Her smile turned into a frown and the twinkle in her eyes went out, causing Kaguya to purse her lips.

"But you know what? When I get one, I'll let you shoot the first round. How does that sound?"

Claire's face lit up in an instant, and she lunged forward to embrace Kaguya. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you soooooo much, Kaguya! That sounds suuuuper fun!"

"Sure thing. For now, though," Kaguya said as she pushed Claire back and looked at the massive feline, "we need to take care of this thing."

As she said that, Kaguya strolled over to the feline and clicked her pen so that the point shot out. Claire stood by and watched Kaguya rear her arm back and swing it down like a hammer.

"What are you doing, Human?!"

Kaguya's arm froze before the point of the pen could impale the feline's head, and her neck whipped around as the door with a lion head swung open. A tall young man jumped out and charged at Kaguya, who sweep-kicked his legs out from underneath him and pinned him down by pressing her forearm against his throat.

The feline roared and bucked at the sight, trying to crawl its way over to the young man.

"Stay... back, Black," the young man muttered as Kaguya applied more pressure to his throat.

"Black? Ohhhhhh! Is that your pet?" Claire asked, pointing at the feline.

The young man's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets and he threw Kaguya off himself before bounding towards Claire. "Don't you dare call him a pet!"

"Whoopsies! Sorrrry." She bowed before he could swing at her, causing him to freeze mid-stride. "Y'know, even though he almost ate me, it was reeeeaaallllly fun running from him."

The young man stared at Claire with his piercing gold eyes for a moment before glancing over his shoulder and at Kaguya.

"Black would never eat something as disgusting as a human."

"Pfft. Yeah right," Kaguya retorted, drawing the young man's attention. "That fucker would've torn her apart had I not cuffed its fucking legs."

His eyes twitched, and he slowly started towards Kaguya. "Take them off. Now."

Claire tilted her head. The young man spoke in a low tone that made him sound as if he was growling almost exactly like Black did when she grabbed the door handle. And then her eyes slowly began to open wider and wider until, finally, she gasped.

Kaguya kept an eye on the stranger as she asked, "You okay, Claire?"

"Yuppers! I just noticed something, is all."

"Lay it on me."

"I think Black was trying to bring people here. He definitely could've caught us, but all he did was chase us until I got here."

"Us? What're you talking about?" asked Kaguya.

Claire tapped her index finger against her cheek a few times and looked off into the distance. "Weeeellll I was with some other people earlier, but they were sooooo boring."

Kaguya leaned her head forward and eyed Claire intensely and took out her notepad. "There're other people here? How many? What're their names? Wait... what's _your_ name?" she interrogated, pointing her pen at the young man.

"Uncuff Black first."

The Cop muttered under her breath as she uncuffed Black's legs, and as soon as she did he trotted over to the young man's side.

"Toto Shishigo, Ultimate Lion Tamer. Just so you know, I don't associate with humans."

"But you're doing that right now."

Toto hissed at Claire and headed for the door he came out of with Black in tow. However, the moment he grabbed the handle an intercom switched on.

"Attention inmates: Now that you're all in groups, get your asses over to the courthouse! That's in the center of the prison, or opposite your cells for those of you who're lost. Anyone who isn't present twenty minutes from now will be put to death, so ya better hurry!"

Toto, Kaguya, and Claire let the announcement sink in for a second before Claire began to skip down the hallway. All they could do was follow orders and march towards the center of despair.

* * *

 **Nine more students were introduced, and the final six will make their appearances next chapter, which will signal the end of the prologue and the beginning of the Killing Game!  
For those of you waiting to see your character's introduction, my goal is to have the chapter posted by the end of next week.** **Thank you for your patience!  
**

 **BouncingFish:** _T_ _hanks! I'm happy to hear you like them so much, and hopefully I keep it up with the humor. Fingers crossed! You're right that a prison isn't new (far from it), and I appreciate the positive feedback_

 **Warrior of Hope:** _Love the character analyses - you hit the nail on the head for each of them - and I appreciate the kind words. I'm confident you'll like the rest of the cast just as much as these three_

 **Crimson Spider Lily:** _I hadn't thought to look up Etch-a-Sketch art till you brought it up, lol. For as big an idiot as Claire is, I'm glad she's gotten such a positive reception. Enji ain't the Ultimate Boxer for nothing! And thanks!_

 **dougcupkae:** _Oh man, thank you! I hope every character lives up to your expectations now and going forward. I agree that Enji is similar to Mikan right now, but I believe he'll distance himself from that image in the future_

 **Umber105:** _Lol. No need to explain, my good man/woman. Glad to hear you're excited, and I hope everything lives up to/exceeds your expectations!_

 **pokemansuperallstar:** _Now for "The Ultimate Prisoners!" lol. I plan on rotating characters in and out of that role, so while Claire may be one of many, y'all should be more familiar with her than the others. I like your character comps, too; tbh I hadn't thought of Claire as an Ibuki/Kaede/Hina combo until now, but I love it!_

 **HoppsHungerfan:** _I didn't realize Cash's appearance was so much different than his Talent suggests; and Claire's an idiot, to put it lightly. Enji's the one I'm most interested in too for the same reason, plus he's a nice contrast to Cash and Claire_

* * *

 **Students Met: 12/18**

 _1\. Claire Fleener - Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher  
2\. Cash Bach __-_ _Ultimate Entrepreneur  
_ _3\. Enji Tsukamu - Ultimate Boxer  
_ _4._ _Chiharu Shimizu - Ultimate Mimic_ _  
5._ _Fay Kingsley_ _-_ _Ultimate 3D Printer  
_ _6._ _Dulcinea Cervantes -_ _Ultimate Runner-Up_ _  
_ _7._ _Jackilen "Jackie" Ruben - Ultimate Game Reviewer_ _  
8\. Momoko Fujimori -_ _Ultimate Fire Breather_ _  
_ _9._ _Antonio Ordoñez - Ultimate Matador_ _  
10._ _Koji Nakajima - Ultimate Radio Host_ _  
_ _11._ _Kaguya Akise -_ _Ultimate Cop  
_ _12\. Toto Shishigo_ _-_ _Ultimate Lion Tamer_ _  
_


	4. Prologue: A Warden's Welcome

"You're the Ultimate Runner-Up?"

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

"How's that a talent?"

Koji pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed as Dulcinea snapped at Momoko. The two girls lagged behind him, Fay, and Jackie, who hadn't said a word since they found Fay and Dulcinea, while Antonio walked at a pace that kept him in the middle of the group. His eyes were basically glued to the girls, however, leaving Jackie, Fay, and Koji to themselves.

"You two heard that person on the intercom, didn't you?" he asked, drawing a pair of nods from Momoko and Dulcinea. "Then shut up and help us find the courthouse. We don't have much time."

Fay brought her hand up to her chin and struck a thinking pose. "That's true. It was said to be opposite our cells, correct?"

Everyone, save for Momoko, nodded.

"Then we should continue on through that door up ahead, and quickly."

She picked up her pace considerably, leaving them all in the dust except for Koji, who matched her stride for stride. The two of them reached the door in no time at all and they each pulled a handle, revealing a grand hall with a marble floor and stone columns on either side of the room.

Jackie appeared a moment later and studied the grandiose room quietly. _Why is this place so much nicer than the rest of the facility?_ Her investigation didn't last very long since there wasn't much to look at, and at the same time Antonio sauntered in with Momoko and Dulcinea.

"I wonder when the others will get here," Jackie said to no one in particular.

Antonio raised an eyebrow. "How can you be so sure we aren't the only ones?"

"The announcement came a few minutes after we found Fay and Dulcinea, and since the speaker claimed 'everyone's in a group' I imagine there's at least one more group," Jackie said while moving her hands about for emphasis.

Momoko began to jump up and down, drawing confused glances from the others as her watermelon-pink hair bounced with her.

"Hey hey, Jack-Attack, should we go look for them?"

Dulcinea answered in her stead. "No way. That person on the intercom gave us twenty minutes to get here or else we'd die."

Still jumping like a kangaroo, Momoko tilted her head. "Oh yeah! JEEEEEEEEEZ! That's pretty harsh, don't you think?"

"What an astute observation," Koji muttered while Fay rolled her eyes at Momoko.

As the group continued to talk, Dulcinea took the time to give the room another look over. She weaved between the stone columns and eyed the wall behind them silently until she stumbled upon a large pair of wooden doors. Etched into a gold plate hanging above the doors were the words "TRIAL ROOM" that made it nearly impossible to miss. Dulcinea stood there in front of the doors and didn't move an inch. Her stomach twisted, the hairs on her arms stood up, and seemingly every fiber of her being was telling her to get as far away from the room as possible as soon as she could. The aura radiating from inside the doors paralyzed Dulcinea.

And then they swung open.

The Runner-Up's eyes shot wide open and she tried to run away, but her legs refused to budge. She could hear something walking towards her at a leisurely pace, almost as if it was toying with her.

 _C'mon! Move, you fucking legs! Move already!_ she thought, lowering her gaze to her legs. They were trembling, as was the rest of her body, and sweat rolled down her brow as the foreign steps grew louder one after another until, finally, two faded gray eyes emerged from the darkness. Then a young man stepped out of the pitch black room holding a pair of black shades, and the evil aura vanished.

"GET BACK!" Dulcinea blurted out all of a sudden.

While everyone else jumped at her sudden outburst, the young man's eyes slowly looked up from the ground and directly into her's. He looked like he was wearing a black cape, when in actuality it was just his jacket hanging from his shoulders, which accentuated his white dress shirt.

"What's wrong, beauti-" Antonio's voice cut out before he could finish speaking when he laid eyes on the young man standing just outside the Trial Room doors. "D-D-Don't worry, b-beautiful, I'll protect you."

"How convincing," muttered Fay as she rolled her eyes. A second later, she locked her sights on the unfamiliar young man, who just stood there and scratched his spiky silver hair like a monkey. "Who are you?"

He stopped scratching his head, but kept staring at each of the Ultimates before him.

"Maaaaybeeeee he doesn't understand us. OOOOH! Wouldn't that be kinda cool?"

Nobody responded, prompting Momoko to jump up and down as she studied the unfamiliar person.

"Heads I tell you my name, Tails I don't."

"Huh?"

The young man suddenly flipped a coin with his right thumb and snatched it as it fell to his eye-level. After opening his hand, he looked up at the group and dropped the coin in the right pocket of his black slacks.

"Gin Arashi, Ultimate Lawyer," he said monotonously. His facial expression remained neutral as well.

"When did you get here? We should've seen you walk in," Jackie asked, drawing Gin's attention.

"Over an hour ago. This is the nicest area I've seen, so I figured I'd hang out here. Then that guy on the intercom said for everyone to come here."

Jackie nodded, appearing content with Gin's answer, but when she turned to walk away she rolled her lower lip over her bottom teeth and crossed her arms. _That sounds too convenient. I'll have to keep an eye on him._

She continued walking towards the other side of the hall, sat down, and leaned against one of the columns after resting her backpack on the ground by her side. She then pulled out a PS Vita and began playing it while still listening to the ongoing conversation the others were having with Gin.

"Have you seen anyone other than us?" Dulcinea inquired.

"No. You're the first people I've met since I was let out of my cell."

"You were in one TOO? JEEEEEEEZ, those sure were gross!"

Gin started to scratch his head again and stared at Momoko blankly. "Mine was rather nice. Certainly not somewhere I'd like to sleep, but it was bearable."

The doors to the grand hall swung open, prompting everyone to turn towards them. Seven people - including Cash, Enji, and Chiharu - stood in the doorway and gaped at the sight of the grand hall until they realized they weren't the only ones there. The moment they did, they closed the doors behind themselves and approached the other group of seven.

One of the girls, who was in a wheelchair, covered her mouth and gasped when she saw the stone columns on either side of her. "It is like we are in a different world!" she exclaimed, generating a pair of nods from Enji and Chiharu.

"You can say that again, darling," a short guy said. He looked to have a similar style to Koji as he wore a white vest over a pink button-up shirt. "The designer's taste is remarkable."

Unlike the others, a girl in an oversized greenish-yellow knitted sweater refrained from making any comments about the courthouse and instead approached the other group. She greeted them with a smile and waved.

"Hi! I'm Otoha Noguchi, the Ultimate Astrogeologist. It's a pleasure to meet you all." Otoha proceeded to bow her head, unaware of the shocked expressions on Fay's and Koji's faces, but when she looked up Antonio was standing just a few inches away.

He pulled a rose out of nowhere, much to everyone's confusion, and took Otoha's hands in his.

"Where have you been all my life?" he asked, putting on his most charming face and voice.

"What are your names?" Otoha pulled her hands away in a flash and continued to smile at the others while ignoring Antonio's flirting.

As introductions were exchanged yet again, Cash, Enji, and Chiharu looked around.

"It doesn't l-look like Claire's here y-y-yet..."

"Do you think she got eaten by that panther?" Chiharu turned to Enji with a devilish grin, then Cash. Neither of them laughed, however, so she crossed her arms and pouted. "Shee~eesh! Tough crowd."

"Doubt it. Dulcinea an' Fay are here."

Enji spotted the aforementioned girls and looked at everyone they were standing with before returning his attention to Cash and Chiharu. "W-Where did Siyana and Isei go...?"

They looked at the other side of the hall opposite Otoha and spotted the duo in question introducing themselves to Jackie.

"What's the best part about being the Ultimate Explosives Engineer, Siyana?"

The aforementioned girl smiled. At least, that's what Jackie thought she did - it was hard to tell since Siyana's face was mostly covered by a worn out, full-face, two respirator gas mask that looked even duller when next to Isei's bright pink shirt and shoes.

"There is nothing more pleasant than doing what you love, especially when it all falls apart and you rebuild it to become bigger and better."

Isei's jaw dropped, and then he took his pink glasses of. "Honey, if that isn't the most magnificent thing I've heard, may God strike me down right now." He, Siyana, and Jackie paused to look up at the roof for a few seconds until the coast was clear.

"What about you, Isei? Being the Ultimate Photojournalist sounds fun."

"It sure is. I've traversed the world and taken in all of its beauty. Earth truly is a magical place." He seemed to be holding himself with his eyes closed, clearly enjoying the thought of traveling.

"By any chance, did you capture an image of a magical creature?" a soft, delicate voice inquired.

The three Ultimates turned around and each of them lowered their gazes to a girl in a wheelchair.

Similar to her voice, the combination of her emerald green eyes, freckled cheeks, and pale, almost porcelain-like skin was cute. There was a twinkle in her eyes that exuded a kind of childlike innocence despite her age. The twinkle went out, however, and her smile vanished. She tightened her grip on her teddy bear and shrank in her wheelchair underneath the frightening, demonic glares.

"O-Oh ahm h-hello. I am sorry I... d-did not see you there. Erm... what is your name? And are you an U-Ultimate as well?" the delicate-looking girl stammered after briefly making eye contact with Jackie.

"Hm? Me?"

The girl nodded. "Ahm... please forgive me, I... I-I get a little nervous meeting new people..."

"Oh, there's no need to worry. I'm Jackilen Ruben, the Ultimate Game Reviewer, but you can call me Jackie," she said with a smile. "What's your name?"

"M-My name?" the girl stammered, biting her nails. "Oh, I-I am Frances Blackwood, and I am considered the ahm... U-Ultimate Alchemist. Have you heard of that? A-Alchemy, I mean?"

"It's nice to meet you, Frances. I don't know much about alchemy, but I'd love if you told me about it."

All of a sudden Frances' eyes lit up once again, and the childlike aura she previously exuded returned as well.

"Time's up, maggots! Shut the fuck up and direct your attention to the Trial Room!"

Everyone went silent at the same time as the doors to the Trial Room swung open. They all gathered around the doors and peered inside the pitch black room until, finally, out came a tiny bear decked out in a warden costume. The bear's left side consisted of black hair and a demonic-looking red eye, whereas its right side was strictly white fur and its eye was a black dot. The only areas of its body that weren't split by color were its stomach and snout, both of which were white.

While the fourteen Ultimates stared and gawked at the tiny creature that stood at their knees, it surveyed the room and counted off how many of them there were. In a matter of seconds, it let out a sigh and placed its paws on its hips after shaking its head.

"Down three already? I expected more from you so-called Ultimates," the teddy bear said, trying to make air quotes with his paws.

The group remained silent, and most of them looked at each other - the only ones who didn't were Fay and Gin. There was a combination of confusion and shock plastered on all the others' faces as the news sank in. Four of them had already bitten the dust... why? How? Those were the first two questions to enter their minds while the teddy bear maintained its stoic expression and took their reactions in without a sounds.

The quintet of Cash, Enji, Chiharu, Fay, and Dulcinea looked over the room in search of Claire, though no matter how many times they did she never turned up. If what the teddy bear had said was true, then she had to have been one of the four to die in the shithole the found themselves in.

"There's no way that panther got her... is there?" Chiharu asked no one in particular, though Cash still responded by shaking his head.

"Of fuckin' course not!" he snapped. "Sure, Claire's an idiot, but she had her moments."

The teddy bear let out a maniacal laugh. "Are you sure about that, Mister Moneybags?"

Cash bulldozed through his fellow Ultimates and grabbed the tiny creature by its throat. "Say another fuckin' word and I'll snap your goddamn neck!"

"I dare you." The teddy bear stared him dead in the eyes and cracked a devilish smirk when Cash released him. "Good choice. If you hadn't let me go, you would've ended up like your idiot friend."

Despite his face burning red out of fury, Cash slowly returned to the back of the group and ignored all of the glances as he walked by everyone with his head hanging. Once he was back in his original position, Cash crossed his arms and glared daggers at the teddy bear, though he was ignored due to Jackie raising her hand.

"Excuse me, why are we here?" she asked.

The teddy bear hid its face behind its paws. "Pufufufu! Looks like someone here doesn't beat around the bush. I'll answer your question with a question: why do you _think_ you're here?"

As soon as its words left its mouth, the teddy bear watched everyone exchange speculative glances for a few seconds until, finally, Isei spoke up.

"Well, based on the environment we've been placed in, I believe it's safe to assume we're prisoners of some sort. Am I correct?" he inquired, lifting his gaze to meet the teddy bear's.

"Right you are, pinky!"

"Pinky?"

"As the warden, I welcome all fifteen of you to Kuma Penitentiary! May your stay be plagued with despair, you pieces of shit!"

Murmurs of confusion spread throughout the group of Ultimates as they looked around and counted heads. There were fourteen of them, that wouldn't change no matter how many times they re-counted.

The teddy bear's laughter grew louder each time they double-checked. "You idiots know counting over and over again won't do anything, right?"

"So you misspoke," Siyana retorted, only for the teddy bear to shake its head.

"M-Maybe it is a person who... uses magic." Frances made note of the befuddled reactions on her fellow Ultimates' faces before bringing her teddy bear closer to her chest.

"Oh yeah, that _has_ to be it... not," an unfamiliar voice said a moment later. It sounded as if it came from behind the group, so they all turned around and immediately spotted a young, strawberry blonde-haired woman leaning back against the wall with her legs crossed at the ankles.

She wore a white vest and a knee-length white ruffle skirt, which made the pair of mismatching stockings on her legs all the more noticeable - the left one was black and the right was white.

Her blank, almost disinterested expression remained in spite of suddenly becoming the center of attention, but it did prompt her to uncross her legs and approach the group. Unlike the other girls, she had noticeable curves and a svelte figure that attracted unwanted attention from a few boys and girls.

"Well he~llo there."

"¡Díos mío! Her beauty burns brighter than the sun!"

The young woman ignored both comments and eventually came to a stop despite there being more than a yard of empty space between her and the next closest person. An awkward silence ensued as nobody said a word for what felt like hours until, finally, the young woman cleared her throat.

"Ayeka Shinrigaku, Ultimate Psychologist. It's so... not nice to meet you."

The teddy bear chuckled at her greeting, and then lowered its paws so that the Ultimates could see its face. "As I was saying, I'm the warden here, and you're all inmates! Isn't that fun?"

"Not once did I ever imagine I'd be arrested," Siyana said as she held her left arm. "Pardon me, Warden, but may you please inform me of my crime?"

Fay rolled her eyes. "We _weren't_ arrested! And you..." She pointed at the teddy bear. "Do you truly expect us - Ultimates, mind you - to believe we're inmates? Stop wasting my time and arrange for someone to pick me up this instant."

The teddy bear slowly tilted its head as it stared Fay dead in the eyes, only for her to do the same in return. It became apparent to everyone that Fay wouldn't cave to such simple intimidation tactics like Cash had a few minutes earlier. She didn't wait for a response either, and instead made her way towards the grand hall's entrance at a lightning-fast pace. Fay grabbed the handle and, when she opened the door, she was greeted to the sight of Claire and Toto bickering in the middle of the empty hallway while Kaguya sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I told you we should've rode Black! We weren't the first ones here!" Claire shouted while pointing at Toto.

He tried to bite her finger before retorting, "Yet we _are_ here, Human, and without riding Black like a horse!"

The two chirped back and forth a little while longer until Kaguya dragged Claire into the grand hall by her hood, thanking Fay for holding the door open in the process. Toto followed the girls while ignoring Fay in favor of muttering to himself. Then Black strolled in, and he caused Fay to freeze in place with just one glance. Rather than maul her, he hurried after Toto and stuck to the young man's side once all eyes were on them, Kaguya, and Claire.

Fay placed a hand over her chest and sighed in relief as she felt her heart nearly leap out of her chest. Once she turned around she made sure to keep Claire in her line of vision. _S_ _he was with that monster... How_ _did it not kill her?!_ she thought before walking back towards the group.

"What the-" the teddy bear exclaimed at the sight of Claire, Toto, and Kaguya. "Everyone's here?"

"You sound surprised," said Otoha.

"Pufufu! I _am_ surprised, and also excited! Everyone being here means this game will be a whole lot more interesting!"

Claire's eyes lit up in an instant. "A game? What kinda game? Is it fun? How do we play?"

"It l-looks like she's okay..." Enji whispered to Cash and Chiharu, both of whom nodded.

"Another straight-shooter, huh? I like it!" the teddy bear exclaimed. "Here in Kuma Penitentiary, we handle sentences a little... _differently_ than other prisons. In fact, if you play along, you can get your sentence lifted and head on out in no time at all! How does that sound?"

Jackie raised her hand again, and the teddy bear pointed at her.

"What's the catch?"

It paused for a moment and rubbed the back of its head. "You all have been sentenced to life in prison, and will spend the rest of your days here in Kuma Penitentiary!"

The teddy bear eagerly shifted its eyes from one Ultimate to the next, except its smile disappeared after not getting a single noteworthy reaction. It then lowered its head, sighed, and kicked the ground.

"You guys are no fun. Can't one of you at least be a little freaked out?"

"Just tell us how to get out of he~eere!" Chiharu yelled from the back of the group.

"Oh... okay then. If you can get away with killing one of your fellow inmates, you're free to leave. I guess you could call this a Killing Game," it replied dejectedly, kicking at the ground while hanging its head.

This time, the tiny creature got the reactions it was looking for. As a flurry of objections and horrified screams suddenly filled the air with Despair, the dejected expression on its face was replaced with one of pure joy.

"Seriously? A 'Killing Game'? Sounds like one of the dumb ideas my fans'll send in to talk about on my show," Koji mused.

The teddy bear ignored Koji.

"Since you all like getting straight to the point, I'll do that... kind of. This Killing Game is officially underway and its rules are effective immediately!"

The tiny creature ran into the Trial Room and returned a second later, dragging a bag of tablets along the floor before laying it in front of the Ultimates.

"There are only enough Nomopads in there for each of you, so try not to lose or break them!"

"Oh yeah? What's stopping me from putting holes through all of these?" Kaguya countered, reaching for her empty holster.

A maniacal laugh followed her question, and then came an answer. "You'll be put to death, so be a nice girl and follow instructions. That goes for all of you, too! Take one and turn it on!"

Despite a few complaints here and there, it wasn't long before everyone had taken a Nomopad from the bag and turned them on. When they did, the Ultimates saw their names displayed on the screen in big, bold letters for a couple of seconds before being replaced by several little icons. It was obvious what they were for - the letter icon was for messages, the bell icon for an alarm, and a phone icon for making calls - but two of the icons tucked in the top corners of the screen were grayed out and impossible to make out.

"Don't worry about what those do for now, you'll find out soon enough," the teddy bear announced after seeing everyone's confused expressions. "You should look over the rules first. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some warden stuff to tend to. Happy killing!"

"Wait!" Dulcinea screamed as the teddy bear took off at light speed and exited the grand hall. The doors swung open and then shut in less than a nanosecond, causing the Runner-Up to stomp in frustration.

"M-May we play a different game, l-like... hide and seek?"

Momoko and Claire quickly approached Frances as she began to chew on her fingernails. They each then placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulders as the Fire Breather said, "Now THAT'S a game I'd play... not that I'm nervous about the Killing Game or anything, haha!"

Ayeka twirled her hair around her index finger and shook her head while she watched Momoko fake laughter.

"Aaaaand it sounds suuuuper fun!" added Claire.

Frances stopped biting her nails a little after she noticed Momoko and Claire smiling at her. Their smiles proved contagious as one graced Frances' face. "Oh, you are b-both too kind!"

"Wow, was that Shakespeare? I'd love to hear more," Ayeka inquired before yawning.

Even though she sounded genuine, nobody could tell whether or not that was the case given the underlying passive aggressive nature of her words. What truly made it impossible for anyone to find the answer was her face, which was devoid of emotion.

While some of the Ultimates traded befuddled glances and a few others whispered about who knows what, Claire left Frances' side and approached Ayeka.

"Ummmm... noooo, that guy's dead. You're pretty stupid for asking that."

"That's true! She sounded like a HUGE idiot!" Momoko exclaimed, tapping the toe of her sneaker against the ground faster than a jackhammer.

All of the bystanders glanced at Ayeka, then at Claire and Momoko, and back at Ayeka every few seconds.

Ayeka let the insults roll off her back and studied Claire's body language. _Chin's lifted, feet are shoulder width apart, and shoulders are pulled back. She's overconfident, probably posturing for those two. This shouldn't take long._

No less than a second later Claire stopped grinning as she inched backwards, the sight of which caused Momoko to slump her shoulders ever so slightly and shift all of her attention away from Ayeka. Although no one saw the subtle change in Ayeka's body language, they were aware of the effect: she instantly exuded power that was downright oppressive.

"Enough o' this shit."

Cash attracted Ayeka's stone-cold glare, though that didn't stop him from sauntering towards her with his hands buried in his pant pockets. Everything about his body language suggested he'd be laid back, yet the confidence and frustration he exuded said otherwise.

Meanwhile, Otoha offered Claire a hand and helped her stand up. A warm smile accompanied it shortly thereafter, and because of that, those who were affected by whatever Ayeka did came back to their senses. She noticed as much, so she looked around at them.

"Cash is right, we need to focus on more important matters - like finding a way out of here."

"It's presumptuous of you to say _we_ need to, don't you think?" Gin retorted.

"Why would I when the alternative is staying here and being forced to murder each other?"

"Because leaving the premises is against the rules and punishable by death. Look for yourself, if you don't believe me."

Gin spoke with so little care that those standing around him backed away as quickly as they could, though he didn't seem to care in the slightest as he held his Nomopad up for everyone to see and pointed at the rule he'd mentioned. Otoha pulled out her Nomopad, as did a few others, before she cleared her throat and rattled off the rules.

"Rule One: Inmates must complete their 'job' - if assigned one - by 'nighttime.'

"Rule Two: Inmates must be in their cells by 'nighttime' - or 10:00PM - unless given perks for good behavior.

"Rule Three: Sleeping anywhere other than your assigned cells will result in the death penalty.

"Rule Four: Violence against Warden Nomokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras and Nomopads, and will result in the death penalty.

"Rule Five: Any inmate(s) who attempt to escape Kuma Penitentiary will be given the death penalty.

"Rule Six: Anyone who kills a fellow inmate and becomes 'blackened' will be released, unless they are discovered."

The Astrogeologist paused as she read the sixth rule over a few more times until the reality of the situation finally started to sink in. To think that sleeping anywhere other than the assigned cells was punishable by death was crazy, and if that wasn't enough, their only way out of the prison was by getting away with murder. She wasn't alone in rereading those two rules either, everyone did. While doing so, most of them shared the same stunned expression as Otoha.

"How is not sleeping in our cells punishable by death? This has to be a joke, right?" Jackie asked, surveying the room.

Nobody dared to look her in the eye, save for Antonio. "Of course it's a joke! This whole Killing Game thing sounds like the plot of a crappy horror movie, there's no way it's real."

"It's foolish to assume that's the case, darling. Consider how difficult it must have been to place eighteen innocent people in prison, let alone Ultimates, such as ourselves," Isei rebutted with a hand on his hip.

He had a point. Surely the world, or at least a large sect of people, would've been up in arms over an unfair sentencing. Now if eighteen such instances were to occur to Ultimates, of all people, something would've been done about it.

"You said you're the Ultimate Lawyer, right? Have you ever heard of this place?" Dulcinea asked Gin, who shook his head.

"Some lawyer you are," Ayeka said.

"I'm the Ultimate Cop and I haven't either, so it's likely that 'Kuma Penitentiary' isn't the actual name of this place."

Kaguya started chewing on the end of her pen and stared into space, oblivious to the fact that she'd become the center of attention.

"W-What do you suggest we do then...?" Enji stammered, only to cover his face with his arms after drawing Kaguya's intense stare.

"Why're you asking me?"

Chiharu tilted her head from side to side. "Cops investigate and solve crimes, so~ooo you're in your element here."

"True, true," Kaguya muttered. She reached into one of her duster's pockets took out her notepad, and tore off the top page that was covered in writing. "We still need to investigate this fucking place, even if escaping isn't an option. Groups of three works best since we can cover more ground, and there's always safety in numbers."

"Ooooh! Do we get to pick our groups? I pick-"

Kaguya stopped scribbling furiously and glared at Claire. "Shut it. That's an order."

The Etch-a-Sketcher slowly lowered her hand and pouted while Kaguya went back to scribbling notes down.

"I need to know everyone's name and Talent so I can group some of you together based on how well your Talents complement each other. Then I'll fill the rest out based on your personalities."

"That won't be necessary. I have no intentions of working with any of you," Fay proclaimed.

"The same goes for Black and me," Toto added.

Kaguya glared at them just like she had Enji, but neither crumbled under the intensity of her glare. "Hmph, do what you want. But you will give me your names and Talents."

Fay nodded. "So long as I'm not forced to collaborate, I will," she said, generating a nod of agreement from Toto.

With that, Kaguya went around taking notes of everyone's name and Talent, starting with those two - who left the grand hall right after providing the necessary information. That took the Cop no time at all, nor did making the groups.

"Group One: Cash, Ayeka, Frances, and Dulcinea.

"Group Two: Otoha, Gin, and Antonio.

"Group Three: Myself, Momoko, and Isei.

"Group Four: Koji, Siyana, and Chiharu.

"And Group Five: Jackie, Claire, and Enji.

"We'll meet back at our cells in ninety minutes to talk about what we found."

Kaguya put her notepad back in her duster pocket and clapped as if she was trying to speed up the grouping-together process, which actually seemed to work. Despite some unfamiliarity with each other's names, everyone eventually settled into their assigned groups.

After pulling up a map of the prison on her Nomopad, Jackie showed it to Claire and Enji. "Which part do you guys want to investigate?"

The building was shaped like an 'X' with the center forming a square of sorts, and there were four outdoor areas marked as such.

"Ooooh! Let's go over here!" Claire exclaimed, pointing at the top right section of the building.

"Do you have somewhere you'd want to look, Enji?"

The Boxer simply shook his head, prompting Claire to bolt out of the grand hall without another word. He noticed Jackie had turned to him, and all he could do was sigh.

"Is she always like that?"

"Y-You have no id-d-dea."

As those two headed after Claire, Chiharu looked on and shook her head. _Too bad_ _Enji got stuck with her again. Oh well, at least I didn't._

With the thought in mind, Chiharu shifted her attention back to her group-mates but kept quiet as they determined which area they wanted to investigate.

"I agree with Miss Kaguya's sentiment: our best course of action would be to search as many areas as possible."

Koji stared blankly at Siyana for a moment. "Okay, so where should we go?"

"If we investigate the southeast wing quickly, we could have enough time to look at the right-most outdoor area. Do you have any objections?" the Explosives Engineer inquired while holding her left arm.

Her eyes glanced back and forth between Chiharu and Koji. The former shook her head while the latter marked both areas on his Nomopad before uttering, "No." On that note, they left the grand hall in silence and with Koji leading the charge.

"Then we'll take the northwest wing," Kaguya stated as she, Isei, and Momoko followed them.

"Aye aye, cap'n!" Momoko exclaimed while saluting, generating a laugh from the Photojournalist.

For the remaining two groups, there weren't many options left to pick from - those being the three other outdoor areas and the southwest wing of the prison. Nobody cared about where they'd investigate either, so the decision was left up to Cash and Otoha.

"So you guys don't care either, huh?"

Cash shook his head. "Nope, but we can cover more ground since there're four 'o us. Then again..." He glanced at his group-mates, specifically Frances, before meeting Otoha's gaze. "I'm thinkin' it makes more sense for us to get a smaller area, if ya don't mind."

"Of course not," the Astrogeologist replied with a smile. "Are you sure nobody cares, though? If they do-"

"We don't," Dulcinea interjected, tapping her foot against the ground with her arms crossed.

Both Otoha and Cash froze for a moment before ultimately nodding.

"We'll take the southwest wing, then. See you guys soon." Otoha waved as she, Antonio, and Gin headed for the exit, leaving Group One alone in the grand hall.

The quartet stood there silently, taking in their stunning surroundings until Dulcinea helped snap them out of their trances.

"So all that's left to investigate are the outdoor areas, right?"

"N-N-Not quite," stammered Frances. "Group F-Four may visit the... easternmost area."

"Then that leaves us with the other three. I vote for North."

Ayeka yawned, drawing each of her group-mates' attention.

Cash couldn't help but scowl. "Does that mean ya wanna say something?"

"Hm? No. I'm just bored, is all," she said flatly while twirling her hair and yawning once again. "But since you asked: I don't feel like walking that far. I'm too tired."

Dulcinea blinked slowly. "You're kidding."

"Am I?" Ayeka retorted with an expressionless face.

If it was physically possible, steam would've been coming out of Cash's ears as the Psychologist yawned yet again.

"I'm not wastin' my time with this. Do you two wanna get going?"

A pair of nods from Frances and Dulcinea was all it took for Cash to put an end to the conversation as he and the aforementioned girls exited the grand hall, though when they stepped foot outside they noticed Ayeka was still with them.

She frowned at each of them, especially Cash, but in such an over-the-top manner they couldn't tell if she was serious or not. "Didn't your parents tell you to never leave a girl alone in shady places?"

The vein in Cash's head suddenly became visible, and his face turned red with rage. _Chill, Cash. Ya dealt with Claire before, and nothin' this chick'll do can top that._ After slowly exhaling, the vein disappeared and Cash's face returned to its normal color.

He then turned his back to Ayeka and asked, "You guys know there're four floors, right?"

Frances and Dulcinea glanced at each other, then back at Cash, and nodded in unison.

"If the grand hall's marked on our maps, d'ya think there're three more floors above it? We could check those out instead o' the outdoor places."

"Good idea. I'll check down here, and you check down there." The Runner-Up jogged down the left hallway - if you were to face the grand hall's doors - while Cash and Frances headed in the opposite direction at a much slower pace due to Frances having to push herself around in her wheelchair.

Cash repeatedly glanced at her out of the corner of his eye without moving his head, making note of how much effort it took her to keep the wheels churning. Frances must have noticed - not that he was sure how - because she looked directly at him while pushing herself forward.

"You... D-Do you think I am a... b-burden?"

He recoiled while she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him, waiting for an answer. Frances spoke loud enough for Ayeka, who had sat down with her back against the grand hall's doors, to hear from over twenty feet away. Even she was visibly taken aback by the sudden question.

"O-Of course not! I just..." Cash paused and hung his head ever so slightly.

 _He should feel bad right now,_ Ayeka thought. She then eyed Frances, who'd tightened her arms around her teddy bear. _You clearly hit a soft spot, you jackass._

Cash cleared his throat and lifted his head. "I didn't know if I'd be an ass for askin' if ya needed help. Sorry."

Now it was Frances' turn to feel like a jerk. Her face burned red in embarrassment while she stuck her arms out and shook her hands like mad. "N-N-No, do not apologize! I should be the one to do that for jumping to conclusions!"

Ayeka shook her head and sighed at the awkward interaction, though it wasn't long before Dulcinea returned and pulled her attention away from it.

"You were right! There _is_ another floor above this place!" she shouted, tapping her knuckles against the wall. "Did you find anything?"

Frances and Cash tensed up for a moment and laughed awkwardly.

"No, they told me they didn't." Ayeka rose to her feet with a yawn and dusted the dirt off her ruffle skirt. "Anyways, let's get this 'investigation' over with. I want to get to sleep as soon as possible."

She walked down the hall next to Dulcinea, prompting Cash to grab the back handles of Frances' wheelchair and speed after them with the Alchemist until they reached a winding staircase tucked into the wall perpendicular to the grand hall's doors.

Frances soon found herself in the spotlight and blushed as the others stared at her and the obstacle.

"So uh..." Cash scratched the back of his head while glancing back and forth between the stairs and Frances. "How the fuck are we gonna do this?"

"I–I... I can-"

"Can't you carry her and the wheelchair?" Dulcinea asked.

Cash shrugged. "Probably, but the staircase is really narrow so it'd be hard. I don't wanna run the risk o' droppin' her," he stated, pointing at Frances as she tightened her grip on her teddy bear.

The Runner-Up sighed. "Fine, I'll drag the damn wheelchair; you carry her."

"I am able to walk!" Frances shouted all of a sudden, causing both Dulcinea and Cash to jump. The Alchemist's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth immediately before bowing her head about a dozen times. "I–I... I am sorry for my ou-outburst."

"Ya sure you can go up these? It's not a big-"

"If she says she can do it, she can do it." Ayeka started up the staircase, ignoring the looks from her group-mates. "But be a gentleman and take her wheelchair," she added.

The Entrepreneur pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath to compose himself.

"I can't tell if that was a joke or not," muttered Dulcinea, drawing a shrug from Cash as he helped Frances out of her wheelchair and folded it up. Dulcinea then offered her an arm, which Frances took, and together they scaled the winding staircase one step at a time.

Frances' legs shook like gelatin the whole way up, though that became more pronounced the closer they were to the top. Fortunately for her she had Dulcinea there as support, and because of that she reached the second floor with just enough energy left to wait for Cash, who quickly unfolded her wheelchair. She almost fell into it and exhaled deeply upon doing so, causing the Entrepreneur to smile.

"Awesome job, Frances," he said while holding his hand out for a high-five.

The aforementioned Ultimate beamed and eagerly slapped her hand against his. They continued to smile and ride the wave of happiness they were on even as they turned their attention to the room they'd be investigating.

It was a massive space with curved walls - giving it a cylindrical shape - that were covered with bookshelves as far as the eye could see. The bookshelves were like trees in a seemingly never-ending forest, towering over them by at least twenty feet, and hanging overhead in the center of the room was a fancy chandelier made entirely of glass.

There were even a second floor and third floor, which were accessible by two sets of winding staircases to the left and right of where they all had just come out of, and there seemed to be no shortage of options when it came to seating. The area directly across from them had dozens of beanbags laid out, though there were also desks and tables scattered across the room for individual and group work, respectively.

While Cash stood there slack-jawed, Frances' eyes lit up when she spotted the fantasy section and she wheeled herself over there as quickly as possible.

 _This can't be real... can it? Why would a prison have a library?!_

Cash sat on the thought for a moment, though he was brought back to reality when Dulcinea snapped her fingers right in front of his face.

"Yo! The hell are you standing there for? We're supposed to be investigating."

"Oh... right. My bad."

She'd already walked away by the time he responded, leaving Cash to explore and investigate the library at his leisure. The very first thing he did was take the stairs up to the third floor and walk all the way around it, leaning over the railing to get a better look of the first floor. He laughed to himself when he saw Frances with her nose buried in a book and a stack of them resting in her lap, and then he searched for, and spotted, Dulcinea examining a bookshelf in the nonfiction section. Like Kaguya, she also had a pencil and notebook that she was writing things in - presumably clues or anything of interest - though the speed with which she did so paled in comparison to the Cop.

Cash continued to lean over the railing as his eyes drifted from Dulcinea and glossed over the rest of the floor in search of something interesting, though he came up empty-handed.

 _Guess I better do some investigatin' of my own,_ he thought while turning his back to the railing. He approached the nearest bookshelf, which was comprised of one-half mystery novels and one-half psychology textbooks, and he took in a countless number of titles before finally reaching his hand out towards one in particular.

" _Serial Murder and the Psychology of Violent Crimes_? Really?"

"Jesus!"

Cash recoiled and the aforementioned book slipped out of his hands, hitting the ground with an eardrum-shattering thud. He first looked at the book, and then at Ayeka as she stood a yard or two away with her arms crossed, before he placed a hand over his chest and slowed his breathing down. While doing so, he bent over and picked the book up.

Ayeka raised an eyebrow at Cash and glanced at the book in his hand.

"I'm guessin' ya read this before."

"Naturally." Her eyes remained glued to him. "Why did _you_ pick it?"

 _Fuck me. Now I look suspicious!_ the Entrepreneur screamed mentally, though on the outside he remained composed.

He sighed and put the book back where he found it. "If we're gonna hafta kill each other ta get outta here, I wanna learn about murderers ta stop that from happenin'."

Ayeka scoffed at the response. "Wow, you're so noble."

"I'm glad ya noticed," Cash retorted with a slick grin. "Seriously, though, there's no point lyin' ta the Ultimate Psychologist. You'd be able ta tell right away."

She didn't respond or react. Instead, she stared at him blankly as he tucked his hands in his pockets and sauntered past her.

"Or would ya?"

Ayeka unfolded her arms the moment she heard Cash's provocation and fiddled with the gold, question mark-shaped pendant on the front of her silver necklace. She didn't bother analyzing his body language, however, as the slightest of grins graced her face.

* * *

 **Change of plans: there'll be one more prologue chapter before we finally get to Chapter 1, because showing all five of the group investigations in addition to everything that's already happened would be overkill. I apologize for that, but I promise the pace will really pick up soon.  
** **The next update will mark the conclusion of the prologue (I swear) as the four remaining groups investigate the prison and everyone gathers to discuss their findings.  
** **Thanks for reading!**

 **BouncingFish:** _There were a few who seemed like clones (Claire and Momoko, Fay and Dulcinea), so I intend to highlight the differences between them very soon. I like all of your thoughts on the characters, especially Fay, who's clearly the worst. I mean, who'd ever make such a bottom-tier character? :P_

 **dougcupcake:** _Lol._ _I feel kinda bad for Cash too, but at least Enji and Chiharu have shown they're normal (or can be), plus there's Jackie and Otoha. Like you said, there are a lot of oddballs already, and thanks! I love writing Kaguya! Those big-sister-type moments she had with Claire, plus her trying to kill Black came about organically because I got so into highlighting a few of her most major characteristics_

 **pokemansuperallstar:** _Well, recklessness and intelligence aren't mutually exclusive. I liken her moments of competence to the saying "even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while," which should become more apparent as time goes on. Chiharu's 15, she just looks like she's 5 (I did a terrible job getting that across last chapter); and thanks for letting me know about Jackie's attire not being described. I didn't want to overdo the details with everyone's clothing since I never remember what characters in other fics wear, but in Jackie's case I just forgot so I made sure to include something this time around. Thanks again for pointing that out!_

 **Warrior of Hope:** _Glad you like 'em. Kaguya and Claire's relationship is a lot different than what I had planned, and I'm happy it turned out that way. I intend to rotate characters in and out of the spotlight every few chapters, so to speak, though I'll make sure to keep tabs on how often Kaguya and Claire are seen so I can flesh out the others. Thanks!_

 **HoppsHungerfan:** _Thanks for the kind words and letting me know that I overdid it with Dulcinea. I rewrote and toned down all of her scenes/interactions this chapter, but_ _let me know_ _if I misrepresented her again! Kaguya was definitely on edge when she cuffed and tried to kill Black (who wouldn't be?), though y'all will see different sides not only to her, but to everyone else too once things settle down_

 **Crimson Spider Lily:** _I'm glad you saw Claire's actions in that light! She's extremely obnoxious, and I tried conveying that through the other characters' reactions, especially Cash's. I did an awful job of portraying Dulcinea, but I made sure to get help/advice from her submitter (_ _HoppsHungerfan) so you'll see a "new" Dulcinea going forward. Jackie's a much needed source of reason for this group, and so are Momoko and Antonio when it comes to keeping things lighthearted. Kaguya's such a badass, which accentuated Toto's strange behavior, and vice versa - but I agree that he's too edgy right now. Black's a panther, not a lion (sorry if I didn't clarify that!)... Toto has some explaining to do. Not every explanation/hypothesis will be correct, so what Claire said about Black may be wrong. Hopefully a few characters showed they're deeper than just their personalities. Thanks for the support!_

* * *

 **Characters Met: 18/18**

 _1\. Claire Fleener - Ultimate Etch-a-Sketcher  
2\. Cash Bach __-_ _Ultimate Entrepreneur_ _  
_ _3\. Enji Tsukamu - Ultimate Boxer_ _  
_ _4._ _Chiharu Shimizu - Ultimate Mimic_ _  
5._ _Fay Kingsley_ _-_ _Ultimate 3D Printer_ _  
_ _6._ _Dulcinea Cervantes -_ _Ultimate Runner-Up_ _  
_ _7._ _Jackilen "Jackie" Ruben - Ultimate Game Reviewer_ _  
8\. Momoko Fujimori -_ _Ultimate Fire Breather_ _  
_ _9._ _Antonio Ordoñez - Ultimate Matador_ _  
_ _10._ _Koji Nakajima - Ultimate Radio Host_ _  
_ _11._ _Kaguya Akise -_ _Ultimate Cop_ _  
_ _12\. Toto Shishigo_ _-_ _Ultimate Lion Tamer_ _  
_ _13\. Gin Arashi - Ultimate Lawyer_ _  
_ _14._ _Otoha Noguchi -_ _Ultimate Astrogeologist_ _  
_ _15._ _Siyana Ognianov - Ultimate Explosives Engineer_ _  
_ _16._ _Isei Uehashi - Ultimate Photojournalist_ _  
_ _17\. Frances Blackwood - Ultimate Alchemist_ _  
_ _18\. Ayeka Shinrigaku - Ultimate Psychologist_ _  
_


	5. Prologue: Law of the Land

**Day One, 11:08 A.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, Northwest Wing**

 **First Floor**

 **Hallway**

"Come on! Let's move, let's move!" Kaguya barked from one end of the hallway. "What the fuck are you doing back there?!"

Momoko was sprinting down the hallway while Isei had his hands on his knees and sucked wind at the other end. By the time he'd caught his breath, Momoko reached Kaguya and saluted to her.

"Sorry, Cap'n! Wasn't expecting you to take off like that!" she exclaimed before laughing to herself. "You were so FAST!"

Kaguya's already terrifying glare became even more pronounced as Momoko kept giggling, and she grabbed her by the neck of her ruffle shirt.

"What's so funny? I'd _love_ to know," the Cop interrogated as her grip tightened.

The Fire Breather's laughter came to an abrupt end as a look of fear took over her. "Nothing! Nothing at all!"

Kaguya let go of Momoko's shirt and she crossed her arms. Her rage was quelled ever so slightly by the immediate, and correct, response. But then she noticed Isei hunched over with his hands on his knees in the middle of the hallway.

"God damnit! Get your ass in gear, pinky!"

The Photojournalist lifted his gaze for no more than a second and wheezed before his head dropped.

Kaguya spat with a sour look on her face. "We don't have time for this. Try to keep up."

"But what about Isei? He's REALLY struggling," Momoko inquired.

"Don't make me repeat myself. Let's move!"

Momoko only had enough time to glance at Isei before Kaguya took off in a dead sprint, prompting her to give chase.

They ran through empty hallway after empty hallway, listening to nothing but the sound of themselves breathing until Kaguya slowed to a halt near a descending flight of stairs. Rather than speak, she simply motioned for Momoko to follow her, and then she reached for her empty holster while heading down.

The Fire Breather kept close to Kaguya, and with each step they took, the further they descended into darkness. Soon after, she felt her heart pounding in her ears and her vision all but disappeared. She stayed quiet, however, and was able to get closer to Kaguya by listening for her combat boots connecting with the ground.

All of a sudden, Momoko felt Kaguya's arm press against her stomach so she stopped in place. The clicking sound of Kaguya's boots hitting the ground continued to echo in Momoko's ears, though she quickly realized it came from further and further away.

"H-Hey, Kaguya! Where are you?"

"Cover your eyes," she responded.

Momoko did just that, and a second later the pit of darkness was illuminated. After slowly lowering her hands she was greeted to the sight of a factory-like environment with machinery as far as the eye could see. The room must've been three or four stories tall, and it stretched several hundred feet in both length and width.

She rapidly tapped the toe of her shoe against the floor and gave the room a quick look over before shifting her gaze to Kaguya.

The Cop hurried from one machine to the next with her notepad and pen in hand, scribbling down notes like a madwoman. She paused momentarily to tap the machine she was investigating with her foot and chewed on her pen for a few seconds before she motioned for Momoko.

"What is it, Cap'n?"

Kaguya pointed at the machine with her pen. It looked like most of the others nearby, though its functionality was clearly lost on the Fire Breather as she scratched her head with a puzzled expression.

"Forget it." Kaguya wrote down a few notes immediately after speaking and then moved on to the next group of machines. "Fuck, it's hot in here," she said aloud while fanning herself with her notepad.

"You think so? It feels nice to me."

"How? You're dressed like a goddamned clown!"

That wasn't hyperbole. Momoko's oversized silk circus pants and ruffle shirt really did make her look like a clown, and one could only imagine how hot it was wearing such attire.

"I'm used to breathing fire, so I guess I just built up a tolerance," she said with a shrug.

"Interesting," Kaguya muttered while jotting that down in her notepad.

"Hey, are you taking notes on everyone?! Is there anything cool in there?!"

The Cop pressed her notepad against her chest for a moment, as if that did anything to prevent Momoko from seeing what she already saw, and then sighed. She flipped the notepad around, displaying the page she'd just written on.

Momoko leaned forward.

"WOW! You even wrote down stuff about my personality, huh?"

"Of course I did. Any bit of information I can get on people is useful, especially in a situation like this." Kaguya turned the notepad away from Momoko and gave the room a sweeping glance. "Don't go around telling people about this, got it?"

The Fire Breather tilted her head. "Why? Wouldn't it be good for everyone to know about each other?"

"No, it wouldn't. We don't know what the fuck these people are like. As of right now, the only ones I'm willing to trust are you and Claire."

"REALLY?! That's not enough people."

Kaguya rolled her eyes.

"Y'know, you could TOTALLY trust Jackie! She's really nice, too!"

"The Game Reviewer? What good would she be? This is real life, not a goddamned battle royale video game."

Momoko crossed her arms and frowned at Kaguya. "Heeey, she's super smart! She'd be really good at investigating stuff too!"

Before Momoko knew it, the Cop jotted down that bit of info.

Then she looked up at Momoko with a cold, intimidating glare as Isei made his way down the stairs.

"Trust her all you want, but _everything_ I say stays between you, me, and Claire. This isn't a fucking game, it's a matter of life and death," she whispered.

Momoko saluted and beamed. "Aye aye, Cap'n!"

* * *

 **Day One, 11:35 A.M.**

 **Inmates** **' Residence, Southeast Wing**

 **First Floor**

 **Recreation Room**

"This is only for sports? No~oooo thanks!" Chiharu exclaimed as she spun and took in her surroundings.

She, Siyana, and Koji stumbled upon a massive room spanning the length of at least five football fields in each direction. It was seemingly divided into four areas, those being a pool in the middle of the room, a boxing ring in the far right corner, a basketball court in the far left corner, and a track that took up the other half of the room - which they were standing on right by the entrance. It also had a roof overhead that made it feel more like a domed stadium, as well as locker rooms on the left and right sides of the room.

Siyana held her left arm and turned to Chiharu. "On the contrary. It seems this is a recreational area to help us maintain fitness, and perhaps even lounge around," she said, pointing at the pool.

"Fair enough, I guess," Chiharu replied. "Do we even need to investigate this place? We can see everything in it."

Koji walked ahead of the girls and scoffed, drawing their attention. "Not investigating would be idiotic. Not only would we have wasted time coming here, but we also wouldn't know if this is all there is."

"Quite true. By tearing this room apart, we may find hidden gems that can be used to rebuild it into something new, which is why I will search the girls locker room for the time being."

Chiharu looked at Siyana from out of the corner of her eye and scowled before the elder girl walked away surprisingly quickly. Then she turned her attention to Koji, who hadn't moved since he last spoke. For what he lacked in height - he stood just a hair over 4'0" - he more than made up for in presence... somehow. She didn't know how to put it, exactly, but you could tell when Koji was around.

"Got something to say?" He looked down at her, both figuratively and literally.

"Nope, just... looking around." Chiharu rocked back and forth a little while, taking in the awkward silence between herself and Koji before she glanced at the girls locker room. "I'm gonnaaa... go help Siyana investigate."

Koji grunted in response as he continued to just stand there and look down at her, prompting Chiharu to jog towards the locker room.

She made it to the door in no time flat, but when she tried to pull the handle it didn't budge an inch. _Did Siyana lock this, or something?_ she thought. Her gaze drifted from the door and eventually landed on a strange, rectangular panel - or was it a screen? - a few inches from the handle.

The only thing she had on her person that resembled it was her Nomopad, and when she placed that on the panel the door automatically opened. She walked inside and almost immediately noticed the locker room was no different than one you'd find at a gym.

There were four rows of lockers running perpendicular to the entrance, allowing Chiharu to see that Siyana was inspecting one of the lockers in the leftmost row, though the elder girl didn't seem to notice.

"What a surprise. I didn't expect you to join me, Chiharu," she said without looking away from the locker. "Will you be acting as company, or do you plan to conduct your own investigation?"

"Hm? Oh, uh... what would you prefer?"

Siyana turned her neck ever so slightly and took a moment to speak. "Well, I'm not one to ever turn down company. If this 'Killing Game' comes to fruition, company will be a necessity if we're to maintain our sanity."

Chiharu nodded along to Siyana's words while waltzing around the locker room, gazing at whatever she was about to pass by.

Seeing that, the Explosives Engineer poked her head out from behind the lockers. "What's bothering you?"

The Mimic inhaled deeply, then exhaled. "You know how Koji has his own radio show?"

Siyana nodded.

"I listen to it every day, and he's nothing like the Koji from 'Koji's Hour.' On the show, he's funny and nice, but in this place he's just mean and cynical."

"Ah, so you've learned _that_ lesson."

"Lesson? What lesson?"

"Never meet your heroes," Siyana stated flatly as she made her way towards the showers with Chiharu in tow. "Although in your case it's not as if you went out of your way to meet him. Regardless, it pains me to hear that."

Chiharu looked at Siyana, but kept to herself as the Explosive Engineer seemed busy fiddling with the shower knobs and tapping her knuckles against the grimy tiled walls.

"Nothing is out of the ordinary in here at first glance, though I suggest we come back at a later time to conduct a more thorough investigation. For now, we should work on exploring as much of this facility as possible before we reconvene with the others."

Rather than linger, Siyana exited the locker room before Chiharu could register what she just said. She was still hung up on what Siyana told her in response to the Koji situation: 'Never meet your heroes.'

It wasn't something that had ever crossed her mind before, nor would it have if not for her imprisonment in Kuma Penitentiary.

* * *

 **Day One, 11:52 A.M.**

 **Inmates** **' Residence, Northeast Wing**

 **First Floor**

 **Arts and Crafts Room**

Claire lowered her shoulder and crashed into the door, causing it to fly open and smack the wall inside while she stumbled into the room. Despite her best efforts to keep her balance, she ultimately landed on her face and laid there for a couple of seconds to catch her breath.

To Enji and Jackie, however, it looked like they'd just walked in on a crime scene. They didn't offer to help Claire up. Instead, they walked around her and shifted their gazes from one thing to another inside the rectangular room.

All sorts of materials for a typical art class could be found on the wooden shelves lined up against the walls, such as boxes of colored pencils, cases filled with markers, thousands of sheets of paper, glue sticks, and tape among many others.

Jackie ran her fingers along the top of the table nearest her, which was identical to the other three both in terms of structure and location within the room. It was almost as if they were tucked into the corners, perhaps to open up as much space as possible.

While Jackie further inspected the cupboards underneath the table, Enji made his way to the front of the room - opposite the entrance - and stood on his toes as he reached up for the cabinets' handles. He just barely managed to grab them, and when he pulled them open he found an obscene amount of staplers, scissors, and X-Acto knives stored inside.

He slowly backpedaled away from the cabinets, not daring to take his eyes off of the blades until he bumped into something and spun around.

"S–Sorry, Claire. I didn't wa–w–watch where I was g–going..."

"Don't sweat it..." Claire paused and stared at Enji, causing him to tremble. "Uh... what's your name again?"

"Enji."

"Oh yeah! So didja find anything cool, Engine?"

 _Seriously?_

"What is this place, anyway? Looks suuuper messy, if you ask me," Claire asked, paying no mind to Enji's deadpan expression.

The Boxer felt his jaw drop on its own, which grabbed Claire's attention. He then proceeded to shake his head, as if to alleviate his shock.

"Do you r–really not know...?"

Claire shook her head.

"It's a–an arts and cr–cra–crafts room. Have you never been i–in one before...?"

"No siree Bob! Can't say that I have!" Claire exclaimed, once again leaving Enji slack-jawed.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she rushed over to the cabinets Enji had just opened. Unlike him, she immediately hopped on top of the cupboards rather than waste her time reaching for the cabinets' handles, and just like that Claire began rummaging through them.

The only thing Enji could do was watch in terror as Claire ruined the organized bundle of supplies by throwing them all on the floor. The whole time she laughed like a lunatic, which would've scared Enji to death had he not noticed that she seemed to truly be enjoying herself in that moment.

 _I guess I'll let her have her fun... but I'm NOT cleaning this up!_ he thought, eyeing the mound of supplies that grew by the second.

Before long, Claire emptied out the cabinets and turned around with an ear-to-ear smile stretched across her face. Somehow, it grew even wider when she spotted the mountain of supplies just below her, and she hopped down from the cupboards to marvel at her "work."

"Y'know how you rake leaves into and pile and jump on it? I wanna do that with these right now," Claire said, turning to Enji.

"W–What...?! There are so many b–b–b–blades...!"

Claire burst out laughing.

Enji stared at her.

"I didn't say I was _gonna_ do it, I said I _wanna_. Listening to people is suuuuper important, Engine."

The irony was too much for Enji to handle, rendering him speechless.

At the same time, Jackie approached them. "All the tables were stocked with the exact same supplies, but there wasn't anything dangerous. What did you fi-"

Her eyes immediately locked onto the mountain of X-Acto knives and scissors. She then mumbled to herself and glanced around the room before returning her gaze to Claire and Enji.

"Taking all of this out was a smart decision."

Claire beamed and Enji's eyes widened in disbelief while Jackie made her way to the nearest table and pulled a bunch of empty plastic bags out of the cupboard.

"Let's put the knives and scissors in these so we can bring them to the meeting," Jackie said, handing a bundle of bags to each of her fellow Ultimates.

 _Just my luck,_ Enji thought before grabbing a few knives from the mountain and dropping them into his bag.

Claire turned to Jackie, grabbed as many as she could without looking, and said, "Y'know, you're kinda like Cashtopher."

"I th–thought that too..."

"Who's Cashtopher? That's not even a real name."

All of a sudden Claire shot up to her feet, drawing Jackie's attention.

"He's the Ultimate motherfuckin' Entrepreneur!"

Enji fought the urge to laugh at Claire and swept a few loose pairs of scissors into his bag. "His name is a–ac–actually Cash."

Jackie flinched while reaching for what was left of the utensils, then swept them into her bag and stood up. "How are we alike? I find it hard to believe since our talents are so different."

"I dunno." The Etch-a-Sketcher shrugged. "You try telling her, Engine."

Enji began to tremble the moment Jackie and Claire looked at him. "O–Okay, I guess. Uhm... Well... I... I–I'm sorry, I'm too n–n–ner–nervous..."

"Then write it and I'll talk! I'm suuuuper good at that!" Claire shouted after she darted towards the cupboards along the wall. She returned with a pen and a piece of paper and pushed them into Enji's chest.

 _They're making this a bigger deal than it really is,_ Jackie thought, with a deadpan expression on her face. _I planned to talk to–_

"You're both leaders with kiiiiinda the same style. Cashtopher gets suuuuper angry sometimes, but he's usually quiet and nice like you."

Jackie shook her head and snapped out of her thoughts just in time to hear Claire.

"Aaaand that's it!" Claire exclaimed, Enji nodding in agreement.

"I'll have to talk to him some time, then." Jackie smiled at them and reached for her bag. "We should get going now in case we get lost for a bit. Sound good to you guys?"

Enji and Claire answered in the affirmative, grabbed their bags, and followed Jackie out of the room.

* * *

 **Day One, 12:16 P.M.**

 **Inmates** **' Residence, Southwest Wing**

 **First Floor**

 **Hallway**

With her Nomopad in hand, Otoha took the lead and navigated her way through a series of yellow-bricked hallways.

"Not to be that guy, but shouldn't we pick up the pace? We've only got like, fifteen minutes until the meeting," asked Antonio, who matched Otoha stride for stride. "I don't think the Cop – what's her name, again? – would be okay with you showing up late, _and_ without any information."

"Why only me?"

"Well, Gin too."

"And what about you?"

"When you're as good-looking as me, you can get away with a few things," he said with a wink.

The Astrogeologist glanced down at the map displayed on her Nomopad for a moment while saying, "You're right, it wouldn't hurt to move faster. It's not like we've found anything either."

Antonio nodded.

Ever since reaching the southwest wing of the prison, all they'd seen was the color of the walls change from white to yellow. There weren't any rooms filled with normal cells, or anything else for that matter, just empty hallways. That, combined with the lack of conversation made things... boring, almost - or at least as boring as they could be in a situation like the one they were in.

With that in mind, Antonio crossed his arms and sighed.

"I feel the same way, I'd rather be back home doing anything else. What about you, Gin?" Otoha glanced over her shoulder and at the Lawyer, who lagged behind while examining his surroundings.

He slowly pulled his attention away from the cobweb-covered wall and stared at his fellow Ultimates long enough for them to feel uncomfortable before finally responding.

"I've been preoccupied with thinking, so I don't particularly feel any way right now."

"What uh... what are you thinking about?" Antonio inquired.

Gin stared at the Matador - or maybe through him... he couldn't tell - and scratched his head. "This is a game where I have to kill, so I'm planning."

Both Otoha and Antonio froze in place as chills ran down their spines. The empty look in his eyes and his monotone way of speaking made it as clear as day: he wasn't kidding. Neither of them knew what to do as Gin stood there scratching his head.

Finally, Otoha snapped. "W-Why would you do that?! That's messed up!"

"It is?" Gin stopped scratching his head and stared at her. "We're supposed to play the game though, aren't we?"

"NO!"

Gin scratched his head again. "But why not?"

"He's insane," Antonio whispered to Otoha while covering his mouth so that his lips couldn't be read.

"Killing is wrong, Gin. We'll all find a way out of here before anything like that happens."

"So you agree that death awaits us if we're unable to determine a means of escape," he countered right away.

Otoha opened her mouth and tried to refute it, but Gin didn't afford her the opportunity.

"I advise you to reconsider your position, or at the very least your approach. Claiming moral superiority when our lives are at stake will turn people off and strengthen the very thing you're arguing against."

Not another word was exchanged as the Lawyer passed them by and went back to examining the walls.

Antonio audibly sighed in relief, as did Otoha, once there were several yards between them and Gin. Even so, they kept their guards up and didn't take their eyes off him while trailing him. They were so focused on not letting Gin out of their sight that they failed to register the presence of the empty doorframe he stood in front of.

Gin pulled a coin out of his pant pocket, then flipped and caught it repeatedly until Otoha and Antonio entered his field of view. The two of them proceeded to walk through the doorframe, only for Otoha to pop her head back out a second later.

"Are you coming?"

He ignored her question and flipped the coin once again, though after he caught it he looked to see which side was facing up and then showed it to Otoha.

"What?" she snapped, shaking her head in confusion while Gin sat down with a disinterested expression. "What does _that_ mean?"

Gin held the coin up to his face and studied it. "If it's Tails, I won't do what I asked about; it it's Heads, I will."

"Look... I don't want to force you to doing something you don't want to, but I will."

Otoha took a moment to catch her breath while Gin stared at her.

"We don't know the others at all, so if someone wanted to kill they'd have an easier time doing that when you're out here all by yourself. You don't have to help us investigate, just come inside so I know you won't..."

She paused.

"So I know you won't get k-"

Otoha didn't even have time to finish speaking as Gin nodded, rose to his feet, and strutted through the empty doorframe without putting up a fight before he sat against the wall. She immediately spun around and, finally, took in her surroundings.

The room was square-shaped and absolutely massive. Broken tables covered in gum and various stains were scattered throughout, there looked to be some sort of buffet area with a mold-infested kitchen in the back, and there was also a bracket-shaped second floor. The only side of the room that didn't have a second floor area was the entrance. Like everywhere else in the prison, save for the Grand Hall, the walls were made of bricks - that had been painted yellow - and the floor consisted of tiles covered in grime.

Otoha's jaw dropped. " _This_ is the cafeteria?"

"I hope not! If our meals are made here, someone _will_ die of food poisoning!" Antonio shouted from the kitchen, which was across the cafeteria from Otoha.

She headed over to him but stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she spotted the kitchen's mold-covered wall. _Is the warden trying to starve us so that murders will be committed?!_

"Otoha? You okay?"

The Astrogeologist put her speculating on hold and nodded at Antonio after he leaped over the empty food displays, unaware of Gin's stare.

"I'm fine, thanks. Seeing all of that mold freaked me out."

Antonio froze mid stride and his eyes widened. "That's... MOLD?!" he screamed, pointing at the kitchen. "Gross! Gross! Gross!"

BING!

While the Matador wiped his hands on his pants, Otoha took out her Nomopad and turned off the alarm.

"We don't have enough time to keep looking around here. You can tell us about what you found in the kitchen on our way," she announced while heading towards the empty doorframe from which they entered the kitchen.

Antonio ran after her in a frenzy, leaving Gin all by his lonesome.

The Lawyer took his time getting to his feet and pulled the coin out of his pocket.

 _Heads I play this game, Tails I don't._

He flipped the coin, caught it on its descent, turned it over, and glanced at the side facing up. His expression remained neutral as he made note of the result, put the coin back in his pocket, and headed out of the cafeteria.

* * *

 **Day One, 12:40 P.M.**

 **Inmates** **' Residence, South Wing**

 **First Floor**

 **Cells**

Leaning against one of the cell's doors with her pen and notepad in hand, Kaguya looked up every once in a while to see if anyone other than Group Four had arrived. She'd written everyone's names down and crossed them out once they'd arrived, though there were still three groups' worth of names untouched. Kaguya seethed at the fact and twirled the pen in her fingers while shaking her head.

"Pardon the inquiry, Kaguya, but were we not to report here ninety minutes from the formation of our groups?"

She flitted her gaze from the list of names to Siyana. Her lips curled in ever so slightly, as if she were about to show her teeth, and she nodded once. And slowly.

"Having met some of those idiots when I was let out of my cell, I'm not surprised they're late," Koji hissed.

Chiharu nodded along in agreement. "Claire de~finitely got lost, but Cash and Otoha should've been here by now."

"I expected the same of those two considering they were responsible for guiding us to the grand hall earlier," said Isei.

As that conversation continued, Momoko bounced over to Kaguya's side and tapped her on the shoulder.

The Cop grunted.

"Do you think something happened to all of them?"

"Fuck no. The groups I chose work better than every other combination possible, so they _will_ show up." She paused briefly. "Well fuck me, I think I hear someone coming right now."

Kaguya tilted her neck so she could see past Momoko, and the Fire Breather spun around to look in the same direction as her.

The first person to emerge from the hallway was Dulcinea, followed by Cash and Frances, and finally Ayeka... or so it seemed. Otoha and Antonio were only a few steps behind Ayeka, though Gin lagged behind them as he waltzed out of the hallway staring into space.

"About fucking time!" Kaguya shouted.

Otoha bowed. "We're sorry. I set an alarm but I didn't think it'd take that long to get here."

Grumbling as she crossed their names off, Kaguya glanced up from her notepad and found Antonio leaning with his hand pressed against the wall. He winked at her, causing Momoko to slink away.

"You can let it slide this one time for me, right?" He winked again.

The Cop reached for her holster without hesitation, which scared Antonio off, before she shifted her focus to Group One.

Frances and Dulcinea were talking to each other, whereas Cash and Ayeka kept to themselves. They all sat near each other and didn't engage with the other groups, yet nothing suggested there was a sense of unity between them. Every other group was the exact opposite, in that they appeared unified despite not keeping together or only speaking to each other.

She wrote something along those lines in her notepad and quickly flipped back to the page with everyone's names.

"Hey, uh... Kaguya, right?" All of a sudden, Cash was standing in front of her. "Wanted ta say it's my fault we showed up late. They kept sayin' we needed ta go, but I didn't listen," he stated.

Kaguya crossed her arms and sighed. "Just don't let it happen again."

"I won't."

"By the way," she said just as he started to walk away, "what're your thoughts on Ayeka?"

Cash spun on his heels and looked up in thought for a moment. "Me an' Dulcinea couldn't get a read on her for shit. She knew how ta press my buttons real quick, too."

"That's to be expected of the Ultimate Psychologist. What about the other two?" Kaguya inquired while writing in her notepad.

"Frances is a nice kid, just shy; an' Dulcinea was helpful. She took notes of the place we investigated too, so I could get her to show you those."

The Cop seemed to finish writing down the details once she eyed Cash. "That would be helpful."

He nodded once and turned back around. "Lemme know if ya need anything else," he said, keeping his back to her.

"Holy moly! We're suuuuper late!"

Claire stepped out of the hallway dragging a garbage bag with one hand, and so did Jackie and Enji. She waved at everyone with a stupid smile, oblivious to the fact that their attention was on the bag in her hand, but stopped when Jackie forced her arm down.

"Sorry for making you all wait," the Game Reviewer said. "If you want to start right away, please do."

"Group One, you're up," Kaguya said in an instant.

Dulcinea, Frances, and Cash glanced at one another in an attempt to decide who would speak while Ayeka looked off into the distance and yawned. Ultimately, they settled on Dulcinea.

The Runner-Up cleared her throat and read from her notebook.

"We found a three-level library above the grand hall. The bookshelves on the first level reach up to the second; there's a reading area with beanbags, tables, and desks to sit at; and there are enough books to last a lifetime."

"Th–There is also... ahm... I'm sorry," Frances stammered, "a b–beautiful... glass chandelier, as well."

Dulcinea then turned the page in her notebook and continued. "The second and third levels seem like they're dedicated to individual reading, since there are desks for only one person to sit at. The third's also shorter than the second, and the second's shorter than the first. We didn't find anything dangerous or out of the ordinary, so it's safe to go there."

"That's all well and good, but why put a library inside a prison?" asked Isei.

"It's fairly common for prisons to have libraries, or form partnerships with local ones if they don't, in order to educate inmates and reduce recidivism," Gin replied.

Siyana held her left arm as she spoke. "Then would it be correct to assume that the library is a resource for aiding us in murder?"

Antonio scoffed, drawing Siyana's gaze. "Yeah, like a book could be used to kill someone."

"Your incompetence knows no bounds. One can learn a great deal from reading, and the knowledge gained may translate to many a thing, including murder," Fay hissed.

Everyone fell silent as Fay's words lingered in the air.

At least, that was the case until Kaguya realized Fay was present.

"Hold on a sec, why are you here? What happened to flying solo?"

Fay rolled her eyes. "To attend a meeting with information I'm not privy to makes sense, does it not?"

"So you'll be telling us about what you found, then."

"I don't have to disclose anything to you."

"Then fuck off!" Kaguya barked as all eyes fell on her. "If you're not going to share information, why should we?"

Everyone turned to Fay. She began to shake her head as a look of disgust crossed her face.

"Tell me, Cop, would you rather I be left in the dark? That lack of knowledge regarding the prison's layout would make me an easy target for a potential killer."

Fay took a moment to let her words sink in before continuing.

"Surely you, like all of us, desire peace within these confines. My potential death would not only bring an end to that, but it would also put everyone's life in danger."

Once again, all eyes were on Kaguya. She and Fay continued to stare at each other, and the tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

"Fine. You can stay." She crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sighed afterwards. "Group Two, you're up."

Otoha quickly stepped forward and spoke. "We searched the southwest wing and found a cafeteria. Frankly, it was disgusting and I don't think anyone should eat there."

The others began to stir and talk amongst themselves, but they were silenced by Otoha.

"An entire wall in the kitchen was covered in mold, the floors were caked with dirt, and all of the tables were broken and covered in gum. There was also a second floor, but we didn't have time to check it out."

The Astrogeologist took a step back, signaling the end of her report, and worried glances were exchanged among most of the others.

"H–How will we make food wh–when there's mold...?" Enji stuttered as he hid his face from everyone else.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll think of something. We could even find a different place to cook," said Jackie with a cheerful smile.

"Jackie's right! This should be EASY because we're Ultimates!" Momoko exclaimed as she jumped up and down.

Many of them looked at one another, now fueled by Momoko's exclamation, and grinned. The anxiety in the room seemed to disappear in a matter of seconds, though not everyone shared that renewed sense of excitement.

"Un-fucking-believable. You're all idiots," Koji stated, shaking his head.

Claire asked, "What's wrong, little guy?"

A few laughs were had at Koji's expense, causing his blood to boil.

"It doesn't matter if you find somewhere else to cook because there isn't any food in this goddamned place!"

And just like that, the laughter ceased immediately. The only thing they all could think to do was look around and hope someone had a rebuttal in store, but nobody did.

"What's wrong? Did you _just_ realize that playing detective and acting like we're all friends doesn't mean shit in this situation?"

"Y'know, you're A LOT nicer on your radio show," Momoko muttered, only for Koji to roll his eyes.

"If we're voicing our opinions, I'd like to say something: it was stupid to have a meeting."

The Psychologist held out her Nomopad as everyone stared at her.

"The best course of action is to adjourn this meeting and message each other details of our findings within an hour, otherwise tensions will rise."

Fay was the first to side with Ayeka, saying, "I agree. That's the most logical solution."

"Guess I can't argue when ya put it that way," Cash muttered. "We should make a group chat with one person from each investigation group. They'll send each other details about what we found, then they can forward it all ta the rest o' us."

Siyana quickly raised her right hand. "I shall be Group Four's representative!"

"I'll rep Group Three," Kaguya said.

"I nominate Otoha for Group Two!" Antonio shouted, drawing a handful of laughs.

Soon after, Jackie raised her hand. "I'm Group Five's."

"And I'm the rep for Group One!" Dulcinea proclaimed. "I'll make the group chat right now."

"Wowowowowow! Hold your horses for just a second!"

The teddy bear - or warden - suddenly materialized in the middle of everyone, eliciting a few gasps and screams, with a Nomopad in its left paw.

"How'd you do that, Mister Bear?" Claire inquired.

"Perhaps i–it was... m–m–magic," Frances stammered.

"It just dawned on me that I hadn't provided _all_ of the rules for the Killing Game, so I came by to tell you that."

A sigh escaped Jackie. "Guess he won't answer that."

The teddy bear swung its Nomopad around as if to tell everyone to take theirs out, and when they did they opened up the rules.

"Rule Seven: Once a murder takes place, a trial will begin shortly thereafter. Attendance is mandatory for all survivors.

"Rule Eight: The guilty party may only kill a maximum of two inmates.

"Rule Nine: If the guilty party is exposed during the trial, they, and any accomplices, will be executed.

"Rule Ten: If the blackened is not exposed, they, and any accomplices, will be forgiven of their crime and may leave the prison.

"Rule Eleven: The Body Discovery Announcement will play as soon as three or more inmates discover a body for the first time.

"Rule Twelve: The warden may add additional regulations to this list at any time."

Once it seemed like everyone had finished reading through the additional rules, the teddy bear pointed at its Nomopad a second time. "There's one more thing I want to cover."

Koji rolled his eyes. "You really dropped the ball. Why the hell wasn't this covered the first time we talked?"

"Why the hell is _that_ your response to this?!" Antonio shouted as he pointed at the list of rules, only to be ignored by the Radio Host.

Like Koji, the teddy bear also ignored Antonio and the whispers going around. "Shorty over there's right, unfortunately. I kinda rushed and didn't think... Anyways, since I've wasted your time, and you're a group that seems to like getting to the point, I decided to present the first motive!"

"The fuck are ya talkin' about?" Cash interrogated.

"Excellent question, Mister Moneybags! You see, to speed this Killing Game along, I'll give out motives to entice a murder!"

Ayeka shifted uncomfortably, which caught Kaguya's attention. The Cop remained silent, however, and instead listened to the teddy bear.

"From now until someone bites it, you'll be divided into two groups. One, the 'Guards,' will have gourmet meals, access to all available areas of the jail, luxury rooms instead of cells, a later curfew, and will be exempt from chores.

"The other, 'the Inmates,' will get one meal per day, be awake by 5:00 A.M., complete all chores on-time, and be restricted to certain areas within the prison. Failure to follow these rules results in punishment, which we'll cover if such an issue ever arises. Boy, that's sure to make you feel despair, don't you think?"

The teddy bear looked up from his Nomopad and smiled at everyone. They couldn't tell if it was genuine or not - maybe it was and wasn't? - but they were too stunned to speak. Well, most of them.

"You there, Bear," Fay barked. "Release me immediately. I'd rather not waste my time satisfying your fetish for despair."

"First of all, it's Nomokuma. Second, you have the power to escape, provided you get away with killing a fellow inmate."

Chiharu leaned towards Siyana and whispered, "So~ooo is he _not_ gonna refute the despair fetish part?"

"Third!" Nomokuma screamed while glaring directly at the Mimic, who jumped. "The Guards are: Claire, Toto, Enji, Ayeka, Chiharu, and Gin. Everyone else is an Inmate."

"Wooooow, that's gotta suck for you guys!" Claire exclaimed.

A few people shot her nasty looks while others face-palmed and shook their heads.

Kaguya waved at Nomokuma to get his attention and asked, "Can't you switch Toto with someone else? That asshole isn't even here."

"No can do, the list was finalized before you guys even got here."

"Before we got–"

"Welp, I've gotta run! Happy killing, everyone!"

Nomokuma disappeared in an instant, bewildering everyone.

They all took a moment to process everything that just happened in total silence, but of course there were a few exceptions.

Fay, Koji, Gin, and Ayeka immediately headed for the winding staircase at the end of the room, though only Ayeka returned to her cell - the leftmost one on the fourth level. The others walked down the second, third, and fourth levels' hallways, respectively.

Otoha leaned back and sighed. "Well, I guess now's a good time to work on sending the other groups' reps our report."

"That's a wonderful idea, Miss Otoha. Would it interest you if I joined?" queried Siyana.

"Sure! You guys should come with us, too," she said to Kaguya, Dulcinea, and Jackie.

Kaguya was the only one to shake her head. "No thanks. I prefer to work on my own."

"Don't walk around this place by yourself," Jackie ordered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Good point," Cash said. "That goes for all o' us. If ya _ever_ wanna go somewhere or do somethin', send me a message and I'll tag along."

Claire skipped towards him right away. "Heeey Cashtopherrr! Wanna go exploring?"

"Fuck no. Go ask someone else."

"That's what Kaguya said too, buuuut I don't know anybody!"

 _Is that a fuckin' joke? How about Chiharu... or Enji... Shit, she's got a point._

Jackie, who was standing only a few feet away, pretended to clear her throat until she had Claire's and Cash's attention. "If you're looking for someone to explore with, I think I know _just_ the person."

Claire's eyes lit up like mini suns and Cash breathed a sigh of relief.

"Momoko! C'mere a sec!" Jackie yelled while cupping her hands around her mouth.

Momoko sped over and tilted her head as she eyed her friend. "What's up?"

"Claire was looking for someone to go exploring with, but Cash and I–"

"You like exploring?"

"Yuppers! I love it cuz it's suuuuuper fun!"

"Oh my god. I LOVE exploring, too! Let's go!"

Jackie's face dropped as the girls didn't seem to notice they'd cut her off mid-sentence, and then they ran out of the room at light speed without even apologizing.

All Cash could do was laugh at what transpired before him, though in doing so he drew an annoyed glance from Jackie.

"Hahaha, thanks for that. I owe ya one," he said while tucking his hands in his pant pockets.

Although her gaze softened, it lingered on Cash as he walked away and waved with his back to her.

"Jackie, we're going! C'mon!"

She snapped out of her trance and approached Dulcinea with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, I kinda zoned out for a second."

The Runner-Up turned around without a word and headed down the hallway, but Jackie peeked into the room rather than following her. There were still a few people hanging around, but not the one she was looking for.

* * *

 **Apologies for the wait, determining each scene's length was tougher than I expected. Updates will be more frequent o** **nce I have a grasp of that, so please bear with me for the time being** **.  
This chapter had quite a bit going on with everyone investigating Kuma Penitentiary, some groups sharing what they found, the addition of more rules, and Nomokuma giving them the first motive.  
My plan going forward is increasing chapter length to make every arc fast-paced, so the next update will feature a blend of FTEs and the effects of the motive.  
Thanks for reading!**

 **dougcupcake:** _Hahaha, it wouldn't be a Danganronpa fic if there weren't crazy characters and jerks, though I'm with you in feeling bad for Cash and Jackie. Glad to hear your excitement for more interactions, because the characters will drive the fic. Speaking of which, I've had a lot of fun writing all of them, Kaguya especially, though I hope I did a better job balancing "screen-time" in this chapter. I like Gin and Siyana too (plus everyone else, lol), I thought the same thing about Ayeka when she was submitted (which is a good thing, imo), and I had a feeling at least one person would feel that way about Frances (for good reason, too). Thanks for reading and reviewing!_

 **HoppsHungerfan** **:** _Very soon, my good man_ _. Happy to hear I did her justice, and no need to thank me - it's my job to portray characters as their creators intended, so I want creators to speak up if I fall short with anyone. There are a lot of nicer types in the group, and while there aren't as many traditional jerks as some (myself included) expected, characters' moralities won't be cut and dry. Take Claire, for example: everyone who's reviewed has a different opinion of her ranging from "she's an airhead, and I like her," to "she's dismissive and rude." I want that to be the case for everyone because then they're human, though I'm certain some will be viewed in mostly a positive/negative light. Appreciate the review and feedback!_

 **pokemansuperallstar** **:** _Lol. I'd love for everyone to live. Gin's an odd guy, no doubt; Otoha's interesting because she's similar to Cash, minus the short fuse; Siyana's a lot more than an explosives enthusiast, and the same goes for Isei with taking pictures; I picture Frances doing alchemy like in Full Metal Alchemist, even though that's not the same; lol, Ayeka is Junko confirmed! As for the rules, I didn't list them all last chapter because I felt that'd be too much of an info dump since there were six characters introduced (plus interactions). Escaping and killing aren't necessarily the same - Otoha meant it as in a prison break. I like your read on the jobs and perks, plus the differences between Claire and Momoko. I hope readers have varying opinions on characters rather than there being a consensus, it makes for interesting "conversation" between y'all and me, and it may make y'all see them in many different lights. Prison Pals... that's great. I almost made a group of characters called the Prism Pals in one of my other fics. Thanks for the review!_


	6. Power Struggle: Part One

**Day One, 1:08** **P.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, Northeast Wing**

 **First Floor**

 **Arts and Crafts Room**

"WOOOOOOOW! How the heck did you find this place, Claire?!"

"I dunno, I was suuuuuper bored."

"Oh my god, TELL me about it! When me, Jackie, aaaannnnd..." Momoko brought her hand up to her chin and struck a thinking pose. "I don't remember their names... But after us, the short guy, and the handsome guy met that girl who went solo and Group One's speaker, we didn't do anything fun!"

Claire turned around and slapped her hands against her cheeks. "Fate and Dolphin-oh-yeah?!"

"YES! Those two!"

"That's why I got suuuuuuper bored and found this place!" She waved her arms around to gesture at the whole room, eliciting an eye-roll from Momoko. "They just talked about dying for-ever!"

Momoko cupped her hands around her mouth and said, "Booorrriiinnng."

Claire nodded like crazy before she went back to digging through a cabinet. "Holy moly! These are still here!" She reached as far back as she could, pulled three knives out of the cabinet, and then closed it.

"Y'know, we should do something else."

She stared at Momoko. "What?! But exploring's sooooooo fun!"

"Well, DUH! Of course it's fun! But if we do it too much, it won't be. Plus, what happens when we run outta stuff and _can't_ explore?"

"Psssh. You're goofy, Momo," Claire said, waving one of the knives around.

Momoko raised an eyebrow.

"Exploring everything's imPOSSible! It's like, a law or something, y'know? Like gravity!"

"Really? I never heard of that before."

"Cuz it's suuuuuper new!"

There was no way to argue against such a damning piece of evidence, Momoko knew that much, so she admitted to being wrong. That didn't mean she'd back away from her suggestion, though.

"I still think doing something else would be more fun." Her eyes drifted to the knives Claire held, and then she gasped. "We're gonna find out what your Circus Talent is!"

"What's a 'Circus Talent'?"

Smiling, Momoko grabbed Claire by the shoulders and shook her. "It's a different kind of Ultimate Talent, so you could have TWO!" She stopped shaking Claire, but she didn't stop smiling.

"Then what's yours?"

Her smile disappeared. "Huh?"

"You said it's a different kind of Ultimate Talent, soooooo that would mean you've got another one. And is the Ultimate Fire Breather your Circus Talent, or your Ultimate Talent?"

"Stop overthinking it, all right? Just trust me that it's real!"

Claire crossed her arms, nearly cutting herself with the knives. "I dunno, Momo. Seems kiiiiiinda fishy, if you ask me."

"How about I PROVE it's real? Then you'd have TWO Talents!"

Not one, but _two_ Talents? Claire was sold. "Yesyesyesyesyes! Let's prove it!"

Momoko couldn't help but laugh at the excitement in Claire's voice. After she wiped a tear from her eye, she started towards the exit and motioned for Claire to do the same.

"Bring those knives."

"What for?"

They closed the door and marched down the hallway.

"The first thing someone gravitates to always turns out to be their Circus Talent. In your case, it'll be knife-throwing!"

Claire's eyes lit up, and her grip on the knives tightened.

Momoko took out her Nomopad and pulled up the interactive map, which showed where she currently was within the prison. "This is perfect! We're REALLY close to the East Courtyard, so that's where you'll test out your knife-throwing skills!"

"Righty-ho!" Claire roared.

She punched her right fist above her head, dropping one of the knives in turn. Before it could hit the ground, she snatched it out of the air and by the handle with her left hand. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened.

 _Holy moly! How the heck did I do that?!_ Claire stared at the knife as she continued to follow Momoko down the hallway until they reached a stairwell.

"Hey, Momo?"

"What's up?" The Fire Breather turned to face Claire and backpedaled down the stairs without trouble.

Claire looked up and tapped the flat side of the knife against her chin. "Do you think there're other fun people here?"

"Of course there are!" Momoko replied, smiling shortly thereafter. "I'm sure you know a few already."

"Weeelll... Cashtopher's fun, but in a different way. Like, he's not gonna explore or anything."

"Jackie's like that too, which is what makes her even MORE fun!"

The younger of the two tilted her head, prompting Momoko to elaborate.

"Y'see, there's more than one type of fun. We're the action-type, so we always want to DO something; Jackie and Cashtopher are the reaction-type, so their reactions are what makes 'em so fun to be around."

Oohing and ahhing the whole time Momoko spoke, Claire failed to realize they had arrived at the East Courtyard. It was built in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid that had been rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise, so the eastern and westernmost walls of the courtyard were perfectly straight. The northern and southern walls ran diagonally, making the western half of the courtyard - which the girls faced - smaller and narrower than the eastern half.

The ground was covered entirely in grass, and it seemed as if every blade was cut to the exact same height. Additionally, a weeping tree was planted at each of the southeast and northeast ends and an array of flowers, all of which were different colors, had been planted along the perimeter of the courtyard.

Both girls took in the beautiful sight with wide eyes, neither uttering a single word the whole time. Momoko crouched by the flowers and marveled at their beauty while Claire zoomed over to one of the weeping trees and placed her hand against its trunk. They spent fifteen, or maybe even twenty minutes silently basking in the serenity of the courtyard before meeting in the center of it.

"Sooooo what's my target?"

Momoko pulled a bunch of papers out of her pants, a pencil, and a roll of tape, which floored Claire. The former approached the eastern wall and taped each piece of paper she had to it, and once she didn't have any left she drew a gigantic dartboard.

She then rested her hands on her hips and flashed Claire a smile. " _This_ is your target. We'll know if knife-throwing's your thing if you can hit the inner bullseye eight out of ten times."

A knife wizzed by, eliciting a scream from Momoko. She saw the knife resting outside the number ring, plucked it out as quick as she could, and scampered over to Claire before her second throw.

"Watch me one time, okay? Then try again."

Claire nodded and took a step back.

Momoko inhaled deeply before she eyed the target, reared back, and the knife slipped out of her hand. Right off the bat, both she and Claire knew it wasn't going to hit the target, but neither of them expected the knife to fly thirty feet to the right. To make matters even worse, Gin was sitting under one of the weeping trees and the knife was headed right for him.

"WATCH OUT!" shrieked Momoko, even though she knew he didn't have enough time to get out of the way. She covered her eyes immediately afterwards.

Meanwhile, Claire watched the knife flip through the air and towards Gin with bated breath. It plunged towards the Lawyer, who laid on his back and didn't see the blade coming straight for his head.

Claire blinked. She dropped her other knives.

Gin caught the knife.

But how? How did Claire miss that?

He arched his back, shot off the ground, and landed on his feet without any effort whatsoever before he yawned. Then he ambled across the grass, scratching his head, and when he reached the girls he offered the knife to Claire by its handle.

She stared at him, not the knife, and blurted out, "Are you a ninja?!"

"Wha–" Momoko stopped herself after uncovering her eyes and seeing that Gin wasn't dead. "How did you not DIE?!"

He shrugged and locked his sights on both of them. An awkward silence followed until he finally spoke.

"Are you practicing knife-throwing with the intention of winning this game?"

Claire's eyes lit up. "Game? What game? Is this reeeaaallly gonna help me win?"

"He's talking about the 'Killing Game,' Claire."

Just like that, the twinkle was gone and Claire took the knife from Gin.

"Ohhhh, THAT game. No way, Jose! I only play fun games!"

Gin blinked slowly and stared at the Etch-a-Sketcher.

" _Fun_... games? What qualifies as _fun_?"

Claire shrugged. "I dunno, I just know."

"That's not helpful!" Momoko shouted before turning to Gin. "Playing with friends is fun, a game that incorporates something you like is fun, or a game where other people are having fun is... well, fun!"

The Lawyer just stared at her, causing Momoko to offer a sheepish smile.

"I've... only read about fun - what it is and what it feels like." He paused and gazed up at the clouds. "The feeling is foreign to me."

Claire's eyes nearly shot out of their sockets. "You've neeeeever had fun?!"

"Perhaps when I was little, yes. But I don't remember." Gin continued to look at the clouds.

"That's, like, the worst thing ever! I'd go craaaaaaazzzzyyy if I couldn't have fun!"

Momoko nodded in agreement. "I say we put your practice on hold after today and help Gin have some fun!"

"Okey dokey. I'll think of something suuuuper crazy!"

* * *

 **Day One, 2:04** **P.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence,** **Southeast Wing**

 **First Floor**

 **Recreation Room**

Koji rocked his head back and forth to the music coming through his headphones. He kept his eyes closed to disconnect from the outside world - or Dulcinea and Antonio, who pestered him from the very moment they stepped foot inside the Recreation Room until he put the headphones on - although he occasionally snuck a glance.

 _Why won't those two leave?_ Koji thought with a huff before closing his eyes again. _Would_ _it be too much to ask for_ _some alone time? I haven't had a second to myself._

As Koji harped on that, Dulcinea investigated the swimming pool in the middle of the room and recorded her findings while Antonio followed her around.

"Señorita, wouldn't you rather look at _this_ ," he gestured to himself with a slick grin, "than _that_?"

Dulcinea stopped writing for a moment but kept her eyes on the pool. "Only if you were being trampled by bulls, pendejo," she snapped before she went back to writing.

"¿Sabes Español?"

"No, solamente sé una palabra."

She stood up and began to walk away, making it impossible for her to see Antonio clutch his chest and drop to a knee.

"¡Creo que estoy enamorado de ti!"

Dulcinea kept walking and retorted, "Stop acting like you're in a goddamned chick flick and piss off. All you're doing is weighing us down."

As she marched toward the boxing ring, Dulcinea heard Antonio jog after her before he eventually caught up and remained by her side.

"You seem to be confused, Señorita, there's no 'us' to speak of."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Dulcinea muttered after pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm talking about the few of us who can _actually_ investigate. Since most of you can't even wipe your own asses, just stay out of our way."

Antonio came to a stop and hung his head ever so slightly, allowing Dulcinea to circle the boxing ring, free of any distractions. Each time she moved to the following side of the ring she'd lean forward to get a better look at it and scribbled who-knows-what in her notebook.

"That was quite rude, don't you think, darling?"

Dulcinea looked up from her notebook and shook her head when she saw Isei sitting on the edge of the ring with his legs crossed.

"After all, how can you already know who is and isn't capable of assisting in some capacity?" The Photojournalist put his arm over the second row of rope and leaned against it.

"Are you trying to start something?"

"Indeed, I am. Writing someone off before he or she can prove him- or herself is foolhardy."

Slamming her notebook shut with one hand, Dulcinea glared at Isei. He didn't back down, nor did it seem as if the thought of doing so even crossed his mind. He did, however, look away for a moment to call Antonio over, and only after the Matador joined them did he return his gaze to Dulcinea.

"Out of curiosity, darling, whom are you including in this group of capable investigators?"

Dulcinea briefly shifted her gaze between Isei and Antonio. "Obviously myself."

"Obviously," Isei reiterated matter-of-factly.

"Kaguya, Siyana, and Jackie."

Isei quickly turned to Antonio and asked, "Is there anyone _you_ would include?"

"Otoha," he said without hesitation. "I've only investigated with her and Gin, who didn't contribute - but he's smart since he's the Ultimate Lawyer – so I can't pick anyone else."

Isei smiled at Antonio. "Well said, darling. Keep in mind that there's more than one way to skin a cat."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"It seems you think there's only one way to contribute to an investigation, when in actuality there are any number of methods. Although it pains me to say this: do keep that in mind."

He hopped off the edge of the ring and walked away without another word, at least until Antonio ran after him and struck up a conversation. In the end, Dulcinea was left all by her lonesome and she took her investigation to the basketball court, glowering the whole way there.

"Just so you know, that was nothing more than her rejecting my advances. I understand your desire to come to my defense, though. I'm beautiful, after all!"

Isei resisted the urge to laugh as Antonio puffed out his chest like a stereotypical superhero.

"You're the... Ultimate Photojournalist, correct?"

"That depends on why you're asking."

"It's only right that I return the favor... even if I didn't need your help back there." The Matador avoided making eye contact as he spoke, although after clearing his throat he looked at Isei and flashed his pearly whites. "I give you permission to take as many photos of The Eighth Wonder of the World as you like!" he exclaimed, pointing at himself.

Isei offered a sheepish smile in return. "I uh... I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

On their way out, it just so happened that they noticed one of Koji's eyes was cracked open and fixed on them. He slowly took his headphones off and let them rest around his neck as he sat up, prompting Antonio and Isei to stop.

"Listening to anything good?" the latter inquired.

"No, I'm trying to find podcasts though."

Antonio grinned. "As expected of the Ultimate Radio Host!"

"So what were you three talking about over there?" Koji pointed in the direction of the boxing ring, causing his fellow Ultimates to turn and look that way for a moment.

"It was merely a lovers' quarrel," the Matador said.

"Good one," Koji shot back, his voice oozing with sarcasm. "Now let's try this again. What were you three talking about over there?" He offered Isei an apathetic look.

"I tried to present Dulcinea with a different point of view about who among us can contribute to investigations. She believes only a handful can, and I think everyone can. We're sure to escape if we can pool our abilities together."

The Photojournalist ignored Antonio's staring in favor of holding eye contact with Koji.

"That's a pointless argument. We're stuck here, no matter how much investigating's done, so whether or not people are good at it doesn't mean anything in that sense." Koji placed his hands behind his head, leaned back, and made note of both of their appalled reactions.

"How can you have such a pessimistic outlook?" Isei interrogated.

Koji cracked his neck. "You said it yourself - consider how hard it must've been to get eighteen Ultimates in a place like this. Whoever's behind this didn't do it on a whim, the rules of this 'Killing Game' are evidence of that."

"So you suggest we just give up on escaping? ¡Qué estúpido!"

"What's stupid is ignoring reality." Koji stood up with his hands in his pockets and glared at them. "I guarantee _at least_ one of us is already planning a murder, because people are irrational - and fucking stupid - when their lives are threatened."

Antonio recoiled, drawing both Koji's and Isei's full attention. The look on his face said it all.

"Don't tell me _you've_ thought about that!" Isei shouted.

"Of course I haven't!" He paused for a moment and hung his head. "But Gin told me and Otoha that _he_ was."

Koji picked up his porkpie hat and put it on while walking down the bleachers. "I rest my case."

Although his facial expression remained neutral as he walked past them and headed for the exit, there was a smugness to his words that couldn't go unnoticed. However, both Isei and Antonio recognized he was right, and thus it was fair for him to speak that way.

"Oh, I almost forgot," the Radio Host announced with one foot literally out the door. "Thanks for filling me in. And keep me posted about stuff like that."

"Hold on a second!" Isei yelled, keeping him from leaving. "It sounds like you don't plan on telling anyone about this."

"Doesn't matter what I do, word will get out sooner or later." He started walking away and added, "Besides, I only talk about stuff people _want_ me to. That's what a radio host does."

* * *

 **Day One, 2:11** **P.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, Epicenter**

 **First Floor**

 **Grand Hall**

"I'm glad we finished our meeting so quickly," Otoha said to Siyana. "Although, it would've been nice if Jackie and Dulcinea decided to stick around."

"Indeed, it would have. I do hope they understand that forging friendships is necessary to maintain one's sanity in an environment such as this."

Otoha flinched, and she could tell Siyana noticed. "You don't really believe someone will..." She didn't finish her question, nor could she.

"It pains me to entertain such a thought, however, I cannot simply ignore it." Siyana held her left arm and sighed.

The Astrogeologist, meanwhile, redirected her attention to gathering the loose papers - that had notes written on them and mock-blueprints of Kuma Penitentiary - scattered all over the floor.

"Furthermore, navigating this situation is akin to walking through a minefield."

Otoha's arms froze and she looked up at the Explosives Engineer. "What... what makes you say that?"

Siyana took a moment to adjust her gas mask with her right hand before meeting Otoha's gaze. "There are eighteen of us at present, and we are all strangers."

She paused and held eye contact with Otoha, prompting the Astrogeologist to nod.

"It is because we know nothing about one another that murder is plausible, and dare I say all but certain. Surely I am not the first to think of this, nor will I be the last. As such, there are those of us who will avoid forging bonds at any and all costs on the basis of maintaining their own safety."

 _Like Gin,_ Otoha thought as she lowered her head and resumed organizing the papers.

Silence set in, and the girls welcomed it with open arms. It gave them the opportunity to contemplate - about whether or not preventing murder was possible, ensuring the safety of others, and most importantly ensuring their own safety if murder proved to be inevitable.

Some time later - they didn't know how much time had elapsed - they gathered their supplies, rose to their feet, and headed for the grand hall's exit before the silence was finally broken.

"Do you want to check out the library?"

"What a wonderful idea! I would be delighted to!"

Otoha and Siyana turned right after stepping outside the grand hall and strolled down the hallway. The former held her Nomopad out and read the message Dulcinea had sent about the library, which included directions of how to get there.

The girls followed them and eventually turned right down another hallway before spotting a section of the wall that had stairs built into it. They proceeded to make their way up the winding staircase, and after they reached the top their jaws dropped at the sight of the library.

"Dulcinea wasn't kidding about this place. Holy crap."

Siyana trailed behind the Astrogeologist and found her eyes darting every which way as she tried to take in all the library had to offer. "I can envision myself spending an inordinate amount of time here."

"Me too. It's a nice change of pace from the rest of the prison." She walked towards the nearest bookshelf, squatted, and surveyed the bottom row until her eyes lit up. " _The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_? I love this book!"

She held it out for Siyana, who slowly reached for, and grabbed it, with her left hand. "I have heard many a great thing about it, though I have not read it."

"Why's that?"

Siyana hesitated for the slightest of moments. "Frankly, it is not my cup of tea. I prefer things that are more grounded in reality, such as chemistry. There is room for imagination and creativity, but not to the same extent as this," she said while reading the back of the book.

"Fair enough," Otoha said as she stood up and examined another row. "Are there any books you'd recommend?"

"Are there any genres you gravitate towards?"

"Sci-fi, geology, anything to do with space. Mainly those."

Siyana rubbed her chin while glancing up at the tiny sign on the wall, which said 'SCI-FI', and walked away from that section of the library in silence. Otoha followed her without saying a word, and they eventually found themselves perusing the history section.

"It may not be your cup of tea, but I enjoy reading books and watching films about war."

"For the explosions?" Otoha joked.

"That goes without saying." The Explosives Engineer grabbed a book from the shelf, tucked it under her arm, and power-walked over to the nearest table. She sat down and began reading right away, leaving Otoha to search for a book on her own.

She stayed in the history section a little while longer until there was nothing left for her to look at, and so she moved on to the next area empty-handed. _Poetry, huh? Might as well check it out while I'm here._ Otoha walked around one of the bookshelves and her eyes settled on a young man, who had his face buried in a book of poems.

"Are you uh... reading anything good?"

The young man jumped and the book he'd been reading fell to the ground. The instant Otoha approached him, he shielded his face with his arms as if she was going to strike him. She didn't. Instead, she bent over and picked the book up before handing it to him with a smile.

"Sorry about that. Enji, right?"

He lowered his arms ever so slightly while nodding and then took the book from Otoha. "Wh–What are you doing h–h–here by yourself...?"

"Siyana came too." Enji glanced over his shoulder when she pointed at Siyana. "We just finished our meeting and wanted to check this place out. Speaking of, did Jackie send you everyone's notes?"

Enji nodded once again. "I... I–I ha–haven't read them yet. I'm sorry...!" He bowed.

"What're you apologizing for?"

"Ahm... N–Never mind. I'm sorry...!"

Otoha offered an obviously fake laugh as she rubbed the back of her head. "Well, anyways, I didn't expect _you_ to be a poetry guy."

"Y–You're not the f–f–first... first person to say th–that," he stammered, clutching the book as tight as he could.

"Do you read a lot?"

He nodded.

"Any recommendations? I'm having a tough time finding something I want to read. Siyana's tastes don't exactly line up with mine."

The Boxer, who was hunched over, slowly stood upright and met Otoha's friendly gaze. She was smiling at him, and then she tilted her head to the side - maybe she was trying to act cute? He didn't know. Regardless, Enji shifted his attention to the colossal bookshelves, quickly scanned the display, and then chose one.

"Langston Hughes, huh? I've heard of him before." She paused briefly upon noticing Enji's eyes had locked onto the other book in her hand. "Oh, are you interested in this? It's my favorite."

"What is it...?"

" _The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_. Even if you're not a sci-fi fan, I'd recommend it."

She offered him the aforementioned book, and he took it without hesitation. "Th–Thank you." He bowed and made his way towards the stairs, taking them up to the second floor.

Otoha watched him until he disappeared into the depths of the second floor and rested her chin on her hand shortly thereafter. Her gaze drifted from where she last saw Enji to the various bookshelves surrounding her, and then to Siyana before her eyes lit up.

* * *

 **Day One, 4:38** **P.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, South Wing**

 **Fourth Floor**

 **Cells**

Kaguya banged on the door with her fist. The disinterested expression on her face didn't match the ferocity with which she struck the door, nor did her lackadaisical body language. Even as she looked down at her notepad, she continued to bang on the door until it swung open.

There, standing in the doorframe, was Ayeka. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and yawned before meeting Kaguya's gaze.

"What do you wa-aaant..." she yawned, "Officer?"

"Let me in for a second. I need to ask you something."

All of a sudden, Ayeka seemed to snap out of her drowsy state. She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly and lowered her head as if to warn Kaguya not to barge in. "Do you have a warrant?"

The Cop glared back. "Clever. Now let me in, I need to talk to you."

"Why does it have to be in my room?" Ayeka leaned against the doorframe, crossed her arms, and watched Kaguya closely with one eye.

Rather than go back and forth with the Psychologist, Kaguya walked past her and into her room. She gave the room a sweeping glance and jotted down a few notes before she heard the door close, prompting her to turn towards Ayeka.

The aforementioned girl stumbled back over to her disgusting bed and sat on the edge of it before stating, "You have three minutes, then I'm going back to sleep."

Kaguya cracked a smile, but it faded when she saw Ayeka fiddling with the watch on her wrist. She had to get straight to the point.

"I want you to conduct mental health assessments on everyone. That way, we can determine who's likely to be a killer."

Ayeka crossed her legs and didn't say a word. Instead, she stared at Kaguya for an uncomfortably long time - or so it seemed. About a minute of silence elapsed before she leaned back and finally spoke.

"I refuse."

"Why?"

"Let's assume I _did_ conduct such assessments," she said as she twirled her hair, "would you expect me to share the results with you?"

Kaguya nodded.

"Then, to quote you, 'if you're not going to share information, why should I?' This is a _game_ , after all."

 _Fuck! She has a point there,_ Kaguya thought with a straight face. _The only thing I have to offer is the notes I took on everyone, but I can't tell her about that._

As the Cop tried to think of something to offer, Ayeka glanced down at her watch and sighed. "If you have nothing left to say, we're done here."

"The motive."

Ayeka looked up from her watch. "What?"

"The motive we were given, it's based on the Stanford Prison Experiment. You're a psychologist, so I'm sure you know what the inmates tried to do."

"You're running out of time, Officer. Get to the point," she said, tapping her watch.

Kaguya nodded and then cleared her throat. "The only reason the Guards knew about the Inmates' revolt was because they had someone on the inside."

Ayeka rolled her eyes. "I'm well aware."

"I think it's safe to assume whoever's responsible for this 'Killing Game' wants to keep us all from unifying, and to do that, they enacted this motive right off the bat. In all likelihood, it _will_ lead to a murder, and a Guard - like yourself - will be the victim."

The Psychologist eyed Kaguya as she caught her breath.

"So you're offering to be an informant in exchange for everyone's mental health assessments." Ayeka stopped twirling her hair, uncrossed her legs, and stood up all in one swift motion. "I won't be the one to approach people about this, so you'll only get the assessments of who you convince."

Kaguya let out an exasperated sigh and headed for the door. "Fine. How soon will you be able to conduct these?"

"I'm the Ultimate Psychologist, I could do it as soon as I pleased." She yawned and stretched her arms over her head. "And right now, I don't feel like it."

"Then I'll message you once someone's on board." Kaguya didn't look back as she walked out of the cell and closed the door behind her.

As soon as it slammed shut, Ayeka fell back-first onto her bed. She needed to get all the sleep she could before Kaguya came knocking again.

* * *

 **Day One, 6:23** **P.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, Northwest Wing**

 **Fourth Floor**

 **Hallway**

"Y'know, I wasn't expectin' anyone ta actually take me up on my offer."

Jackie looked at Cash from out of the corner of her eye and retorted, "Then why'd you offer it in the first place?"

He kept his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Didn't think that far ahead."

"That doesn't sound entrepreneurial."

"Depends on who ya talk to. Some are planners, others say 'fuck it' and wing it."

"And you're the latter."

"Can be. Flexibility's important, though." He slightly turned his head towards Jackie. "Same thing applies ta games, right? The best ones aren't stale."

She nodded immediately, prompting Cash to look straight ahead once again.

"Where the fuck are we goin', anyway?"

Cash glanced at Jackie when she didn't answer, but he continued to match her stride for stride. She looked to be deep in thought as she brought her hand up to her mouth and stared at the floor, so he kept quiet and took out his Nomopad. According to the map, they were in the northwest section of the prison.

 _None o' the groups sent notes about it, so I guess we're investigatin' here. Makes sense, considerin' she checked the northeast wing. Doesn't hurt ta get familiar with this place either, and goin' one section at a time's prolly the easiest way ta do it._

The Entrepreneur lowered his hand from his mouth and returned it to his jacket pocket. Then, he put his Nomopad away and made note of the red-bricked walls.

Clearly, he must've reacted in some noticeable manner as Jackie was quick to say, "The colors of the walls are different in each section. North's blue; West's red; South's yellow; and East's unknown."

"Good ta know. Navigatin' around here without a Nomopad won't be too tough, then."

He turned to Jackie as if he was expecting a response, but one never came. She'd already gone back to staring at the ground.

"You're American, right?"

The Game Reviewer didn't move her head an inch, but one of her eyes locked onto Cash in an instant. "Yeah."

"Figured as much."

"Why?"

"Only the Japanese Ultimates knew 'bout the Radio Host. Just wanted ta confirm it."

Jackie's eye remained glued to Cash as they walked down a flight of stairs. "There's more to it than that."

"Ya got me." His facial expression didn't change in the slightest, unlike his tone. He then held the door open for Jackie and followed her through it, putting them on the third floor. "I wanted ta see if that applied ta Americans, too."

"Knowing of each other?"

Cash nodded. "You, me, an' Claire are the only Americans; Fay an' Frances are the only Brits; the Matador an' Dulcinea are Spanish; and Siyana... I dunno what the fuck she is, but she's alone in that regard."

Jackie failed to open the doors they passed by while Cash continued.

"Never heard o' you or Claire till today. And it didn't seem like Frances knew Fay, or Dulcinea knew the Matador. Can't say that for sure, but it's weird how most o' the Japanese Ultimates knew the Radio Host."

He and Jackie walked down the hallway, only to stop in front of a door. None of the other hallways were structured like this one, which puzzled Cash but didn't seem to have any effect on Jackie. In fact, while he was examining the door, she simply walked up and opened it without a second thought.

Cash left the door open as he followed her inside, not that he needed to since the lights were on, and he quickly looked over the unfamiliar room.

There were two rows of pews stretching from the front of the room all the way to the back - where he was currently standing - and stained glass windows were scattered along the walls. In the front of the room was a small podium placed atop raised flooring.

"A chapel, eh? I'm gonna send the group reps a message 'bout this place."

"Hold on for a second," Jackie said right away, causing Cash to look up from his Nomopad. "I need to talk to you two first."

As he was putting the Nomopad away, Cash froze and eyed Jackie shortly thereafter. "Someone else is here?"

"Brilliant query, Entrepreneur. Perhaps I should call you Sherlock, instead."

Despite only having known his fellow Ultimates for a few hours, that dry, obnoxiously sarcastic response was unmistakable. Cash pinched the bridge of his nose while letting out an exasperated sigh as Fay rose from the front right pew and turned to face him.

"I should also inform you that I _did_ roll my eyes before saying that," she said, tucking her hands in her jacket pockets.

"Thanks for tellin' me; wouldn't've known ya were bein' sarcastic." Although he sounded genuine, it was abundantly clear his words oozed with the same amount of sarcasm as Fay's.

While they glared at each other, Jackie sat down on one of the pew's arms and sighed. That drew their attention.

"Oh, you two are done? Okay then," she said before clapping, matching the tone they established. "I know both of you."

Fay narrowed her eyes while Cash frowned and held his hand out to the side, displaying his confusion. "No shit. I know both o' you, too. You're Jackie, an' you're Fay."

The 3D Printer couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"I don't mean it like that," Jackie snapped, throwing her hands about for emphasis. "I met both of you before we ended up here. You remember, right?"

"No."

"Nope. Never even heard o' ya till today."

Jackie stood up and flitted her gaze from Cash to Fay. "Our parents did business together. We stayed at each other's houses!"

"I see you're short of hearing, otherwise you wouldn't pester me with such pointless details," Fay hissed, resulting in a glare from Jackie.

The Game Reviewer shifted her attention back to Cash a nanosecond later. "I know for a fact that we met recently."

"Really? I don't." Cash shrugged.

"My parents did business with you, and Fay's probably did too! I'm not making this up."

Rolling her eyes, Fay muttered, "Of course you aren't."

Cash, on the other hand, seemed to perk up a bit after Jackie's comment.

"What's your last name again?"

"Ruben."

The Entrepreneur sat down in a pew, crossed his arms, and put his feet up on the pew in front of him. "Ruben... Ruben..." he reiterated before, finally, his eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, I remember 'em! The Ruben Company's like a fuckin' Swiss Army Knife."

Fay raised an eyebrow at Cash.

"They mainly sell land in the Midwest, but they also sell machinery an' construction tools. The closest thing to 'em would be a real-estate tycoon or somethin', but that's nothin' like 'em."

Again, Fay raised an eyebrow. "What on Earth would _you_ be able to offer to people like that?"

Cash leaned to his side to see past his shoes and lock eyes with Fay. "I'll just say I got my hands in a lotta shit. Didn't become the Ultimate Entrepreneur by spinnin' a fuckin' wheel."

"We're getting sidetracked here," Jackie announced, drawing both the Entrepreneur's and 3D Printer's attention.

"I disagree. It's important we have an understanding of why Sherlock would do business with your parents. Perhaps that could jog his memory of you."

Cash nodded. "I was only tryin' ta buy land from 'em, but they kept insistin' on a merger or somethin' like that."

"Why?"

"Beats the hell outta me. But it sounds like she could know," he said, turning to Jackie. "Nobody was s'posed ta hear 'bout that."

All of a sudden, Jackie's face began to turn red and she refused to look at either Cash or Fay. "I only know they were doing business with you because you came to our house."

Cash rubbed the back of his head for a few seconds. "That rings a bell, but I never met ya."

" _Yes_ you did."

Fay's gaze flitted from Cash to Jackie.

"Maybe we did, then." The Entrepreneur shrugged. "Ya don't got a good reason ta lie 'bout knowin' both o' us, after all."

"Regardless of whether or not she's telling the truth, neither of you are to speak of this meeting - or its contents."

Both Cash and Jackie stared at her, then at each other.

"Yeah, if I heard 'bout this I'd think it's fuckin' shady," Cash said, generating a nod from Fay.

The two of them locked their sights onto Jackie, who sighed.

"I'm still gonna talk to you two about this, because I'm telling the truth."

Fay shook her head in disgust. "Talk to that buffoon all you like, but I will not be involved in this. Only a fool is oblivious to the target on their back."

With that, she started for the exit.

And the person near the door scurried off.

* * *

 **Day One, 9:39** **P.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, South Wing**

 **First Floor**

 **Cells**

The only one not in their cell was Kaguya. She was on the first floor, sitting with her back against the wall so that she faced the sixteen cells and jotting down notes about who knows what. Her pen's movements were the only sound to emanate in the area, as everyone else was either silent or their rooms prohibited any noise from escaping.

At least four of the cells would be empty for the night, as the six Guards had been taken to their quarters. Of them, only Gin hadn't awoken in the cells.

 _I should take a break,_ Kaguya thought. She stretched her arms over her head with a yawn before closing her eyes.

"If you're going to fall asleep, you should go to your cell."

Kaguya's eyes shot open, locking on to Antonio in an instant. He had a cup in each hand and offered one to her.

"What do you want?"

Antonio offered a charming smile. "I saw you sitting out here when I was on my way to get coffee, so I figured I'd get you a cup."

"Trying to put the moves on me, huh? It'll take more than some coffee to get what you want," she retorted with a mischievous smirk.

Seeing Antonio's face turn bright red, Kaguya couldn't help but laugh.

"You're probably going to be up a while, right?" he asked, seemingly attempting to change the subject.

"What gave you _that_ idea?"

Antonio pulled at the collar of his shirt and avoided the flirtatious look in Kaguya's eyes. "Well, you're a cop and you've been investigating this place the whole day."

He sat down next to her and once again offered her one of the cups, which she accepted with a slight smile.

"Sooo... do you have any leads?"

Kaguya took a swig of her coffee, then smirked at Antonio. "What, worried I already have dirt on you?"

The Matador laughed and had a swig of his coffee at the same time as Kaguya.

"Actually, it's because I know something interesting." He took a moment to continue. "I overheard some people talking a few hours ago, and apparently they know each other - or, at least one of them knows the other two."

The sound of Kaguya placing her cup on the floor immediately followed Antonio's words. She'd already taken out her notepad and pen by the time he turned to her, their eyes locking.

"Who was it, and what'd they say?"

"Jackie, Fay, aaaannnnd... I don't remember his name, but the Entrepreneur–"

"Cash," Kaguya interjected.

Antonio nodded and sipped on his coffee, waiting for her to write down the names before he continued. "I didn't catch the whole conversation, but she said her parents did business with Fay's parents and Cash. He confirmed he did business with Jackie's parents, but he never said anything about Fay's."

Kaguya wrote everything down at light speed, drawing Antonio's attention. Even after she stopped writing, he couldn't help but stare at her hand until she bonked him on the head.

"Hey, eyes up here," she said, prompting him to meet her gaze. "What was their conversation like? Did they sound buddy-buddy?"

He brought his hand up to his chin and thought about the answer for a bit. "No, not really. Cash accepted it and said Jackie didn't have a reason to lie, but he didn't remember her; Fay outright denied it. I think she might be ly–"

The Cop stuck her hand out to stop Antonio.

He waited for her to say something, but she didn't until she finished writing in her notepad.

"I don't care what you 'think' about the situation, I only want details of what happened."

"O–Oh... okay. Sorry."

Kaguya looked up and saw Antonio hanging his head. "What're you getting so upset about? It's a Cop's job to focus on the facts and see the rest for themselves. Keeps us unbiased."

The Matador smiled, and his face seemed to light up.

"Try to hide your emotions a little better, honey," Kaguya said as she rose to her feet. "Girls like guys who are hard to read." She offered a seductive smile and walked away before Antonio could even react, leaving him in stunned silence.

* * *

 **Day One, 11:26** **P.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, North Wing**

 **Fourth Floor**

 **Luxury Rooms**

"Holy wow! These rooms are suuuuper nice!" Claire screamed from inside her quarters before poking her head out the door.

Unlike the rest of the prison, the luxury rooms were, well, luxurious. There were six bedrooms for the inmates to sleep in, as well as a fully-stocked kitchen, a lounge area with a TV, and two bathrooms - one for boys and one for girls - which looked like they were from the future.

"They re~eally are," Chiharu remarked as Claire skipped into the lounge area and jumped onto one of the leather couches. "It sure is great to be a Guard. We get to sleep here," she said, waving her hands around, "and we aren't held to the same rules as the Inmates!"

Claire nodded liked a bobblehead, though she stopped when Enji came out of the kitchen with plates in his hands and chimed in. "Th–This is a nice contrast to... I–I'm sorry, did I interrupt?" he asked, prompting Chiharu to shake her head. "Ahm... a n–nice contrast to the living c–c–conditions the others are being subjected to. I feel bad for them..."

He handed Claire her plate, then walked over to Chiharu and handed her the other before taking a seat next to the Mimic.

"It's better not to think about that," Chiharu muttered.

"I... I suppose you're right. It's a–also nice to... ahm - I'm sorry - to know we have a sanitary cooking space..."

"Yuppers! We just gotta enjoy how amaaaaaazing this is right now! Plus there's, like, gooootta be a reason the bear picked us!" Claire added.

She began stuffing her face, and the room fell silent. Then their attention shifted to the doors - which were the only means of getting in and out of the luxury space - as they suddenly swung open, revealing Toto and Black.

The two of them walked through the lounge without looking at anyone or making a sound until Enji spoke up.

"Where ha–have you two been...?"

Toto turned around and glared at the Boxer. "Don't speak to me that way, human. Do you wish to die?"

Enji shut his mouth right away, and so did Chiharu.

"Why would he wish that? That's a preeeetty stupid question, Toto," Claire retorted as she set her plate down. "Oh hey, you know your name's a dog's name, right? Isn't that funny? Y'know, cuz you're the Ultimate Lion Ta–"

Toto hissed at the redhead.

Claire ignored him in favor of smiling at Black. "You get it, don't you, kitty?"

The panther nodded as he walked up to Claire and rested his head on her lap. Toto scowled at the sight before looking away. In doing so, his eyes fell upon Chiharu - or, more accurately, her fox mask.

"Ah, so you're not human either. What a relief."

Chiharu tilted her head and stared at the Lion Tamer with a baffled expression. Not long after, she noticed his eyes were locked onto her mask.

"Oh, this? I–"

"Wait! You're not a human?!" Claire interjected, still petting Black's head.

"Well... I am, but I'm turning into a cat."

"Then where's your fur?"

Toto scoffed. "It hasn't grown in yet, idiot."

"Why don't you walk like a cat?"

"That's the next phase of my transformation."

While Chiharu rolled her eyes and Enji had a baffled look on his face, Claire crossed her arms and eyed the Lion Tamer carefully. "Is that why you're sooooo weird?"

Toto glared at her once again, but he lowered his gaze to meet Black's. He nodded at the panther, and all of a sudden...

 _SNAP!_

"AAAAGH!"

Both Enji and Chiharu shot up from their seats as Toto and Black walked away, neither looking back at the bloody mess they'd left. The skin covering the outer half of Claire's left wrist was all but gone, as was some muscle. The bone was clearly visible as blood poured out of the wound. It was impossible to tell whether her shock was from seeing what just happened, or from the pain that followed Black's bite, as she just sat there and stared at her now-exposed wrist bone.

Chiharu cupped her hands over her mouth. "Ho-H-Holy shit!"

The very second those words left her mouth, she caught a glimpse of Enji backing out of the room. He did so the moment he saw all of the blood and, like Chiharu, he covered his mouth with his hands. Meanwhile, Chiharu ran after Toto for a second, but stopped so she could keep an eye on the bleeding girl.

"What did you do?!" she screamed, only for her words to fall on deaf ears.

Neither Toto nor Black bothered to respond. Instead, the former opened the door to his room and walked in with a scowl, though Black did actually glance at Chiharu for no more than a nanosecond before he followed the Lion Tamer inside. The door slammed shut as soon as he disappeared, prompting Chiharu to shift her attention back to Claire.

As soon as Toto's door closed, another one further down the hall opened. Gin emerged from it with his hands tucked in his pockets. He sauntered down the hallway and eventually entered the lounge area, where he saw the blood and Claire's wound.

"That looks pretty bad," he said while walking towards the kitchen.

Before Gin could take another step, Chiharu grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket and yanked him back towards Claire. "How the hell are you so calm right now?!"

The Lawyer gave her a blank stare. "Should I not be?"

Chiharu's face dropped.

"Is there any fruit in the fridge?" Gin asked, turning to Enji.

All the Boxer could do was nod before Gin broke free of Chiharu's grasp, sauntered into the kitchen, and could be heard opening the fridge. He came back into the room a few seconds later with an apple in-hand and was greeted to the sound of Claire screaming at the top of her lungs.

He stopped chewing what was in his mouth for a second, said, "You could always call the warden and have him take care of this," and left the room just as quickly as he entered.

As Gin was about to enter his room he heard the door behind him swing open. A yawning Ayeka walked out and glanced down the hall as Claire continued to scream, though rather than check on that she fixed her gaze upon the Lawyer.

"Why is she screaming this late?"

"I didn't ask; I just wanted some fruit."

Ayeka rolled her eyes. "Anyway, did you see Kaguya's message?"

"The one about those guys knowing each other?" He took another bite of his apple. "Yeah. What about it?"

"No, there were more after that. Are apples more important to you?" she inquired. The look on her face suggested she was being sarcastic, but her tone said otherwise.

Gin continued to eat his apple as he took out his Nomopad and scrolled through the unread messages, missing Ayeka's subsequent eye roll. "This is a sound plan, although I'm certain at least one of them will pick up on it."

"That's fine." Ayeka leaned against her doorframe and fiddled with the pendant on her necklace. "I'm conducting a few tests tomorrow anyway, so I'll pull it off."

* * *

 **Surprise! I didn't post on time. Self-deprecating aside, hopefully y'all enjoyed the chapter. I know some characters didn't get a ton of screen time (or any, in Frances' case), and if that's ever the case, expect to see them in more prominent roles in the following chapter. There's not much for me to comment on with this update, so I'll leave things off here.  
Thank you all for waiting and reading! **

**BouncingFish:** _Hopefully most, if not all, of the underdeveloped characters now have an identity/something to talk about. I felt the same way about Siyana's line after rereading the chapter, and I wanted to make sure y'all knew Koji is short because the way he acts/speaks made me picture him as a giant. Jackie's and Otoha's groups were my favorites for the same reasons, plus I'm so happy you mentioned Gin flipping a coin because of his apathy (I use an rng to determine which side he'll get). The group meeting was a lot of fun, thanks in large part to Fay and Koji, who are sure to rub the others the wrong way. I also love Nomokuma for messing that up, lol. You were right about the motive being based on a prison experiment (props, sir), and about it (plus Claire) causing major problems. Thanks for the support!_

 **pokemansuperallstar** **:** _Glad you brought up the accomplice issue, but there won't be an answer until that comes up. The guards actually have it rough, as you alluded to, because there are twice as many inmates and they'll be targeted for the perks they get. Gin is thinking logically, but also amorally_


	7. Power Struggle: Part Two

**Day Two, 2:27 A.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, East Wing**

 **Fourth Floor**

 **Infirmary**

Chiharu flipped through the magazine pages at light speed, lifting her gaze every few seconds to check on the door across from her. She was in a waiting room that was nice, much like the luxury rooms she and the other Guards were granted access too, but nobody else was there. Without a second thought, Chiharu tossed the magazine onto a stack in the chair next to her and sighed.

 _Enji's the only one who even came by, not that I'm surprised,_ she thought while looking through the messages app on her Nomopad. _I should've guessed the others wouldn't even bother to check in._

She didn't see any new notifications, prompting a sigh.

"What's wrong, little girl? Did someone die?"

The Mimic snapped out of her thoughts and laid her eyes on Nomokuma, who was sitting on the coffee table in the middle of the room. His stubby legs swung back and forth as he leaned towards her.

She simply crossed her arms and turned her attention back to the stack of magazines she created, sifting through it to find something - anything - to read so that Nomokuma would leave her alone.

All of a sudden, the teddy bear blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Whoops, sorry! Forgot about the Etch-a-Sketcher's accident."

Chiharu slowly turned her neck and met Nomokuma's gaze.

"And so did everyone else! Hahaha! Get it? Because nobody's showed up!" He leaned back and laughed, kicking his legs wildly. "Sorry, sorry. I promise I'm done."

"So is she gonna be okay?"

Nomokuma wiped an imaginary tear from his eye and calmed down a bit before clearing his throat. "Of course she is! I can't have any of you being killed like that, otherwise things would be boring."

The Mimic offered Nomokuma a disgusted look.

"In all seriousness, though, she's lucky you took her here to get treated. Had you not done that, she would've died of infection."

"Infection?"

"Innnfection," Nomokuma reiterated, as if to mock Chiharu. "The fact that the damned cat bit her with you all around is what saved her. Had it happened when they were alone, she'd be done for."

Chiharu froze, although it seemed as if time itself had come to a screeching halt. The only thing that kept going was her mind - it raced from thought to thought, image to image. _She could've... died?!_

Nomokuma rested his paws against the back of his neck. "Earlier, you seemed a little bummed out. Everything okay?"

"Why do you want to know?" Chiharu interrogated, snapping out of her trance the moment she heard Nomokuma's voice.

The animatronic - or teddy bear? - stuck his paws out and motioned towards the ground, asking Chiharu to calm down. He waited until the Mimic got her emotions under control before daring to speak.

"Even though I'm the warden and you guys are inmates, it's not like I wanna see you suffer."

 _That doesn't make sense, considering he came up with the rules for this 'Killing Game,' but he seems sincere... enough,_ Chiharu thought while eyeing Nomokuma. Ultimately, she sighed. "Enji stopped by a little while ago, but aside from him, nobody's bothered to come check on Claire."

Nomokuma raised his imaginary eyebrow.

"Don't get the wro~ooong idea, I'm not friends with her. But still..." Her voice trailed off as she adjusted the fox mask so that it covered the right side of her face. "Still, it's shitty to not at least show up."

"Ohhhh! None of the Inmates have come because they're locked in their rooms."

"Oh, I forgot about that."

"Did you not read the rules?!" Nomokuma hung his head. "But I put so much effort into coming up with them. I'm not even a part of this Killing Game, yet I might be the first one done in thanks to a broken heart."

Chiharu reached out to pat him on the head, only to freeze up. _Wait. Is he... trying to guilt me into reading them?!_

Nomokuma hopped off the table and waddled towards the ER doors. "Anyways... if you wanna see her, just go through here and it'll be the second door on your right."

She shot up from her chair and quickly made her way to Claire's room, slowly opening the door before peeking inside. "Claire? You oka~aay?"

Oddly enough - or maybe not. She didn't know - there wasn't an immediate response as Chiharu walked into the room. In fact, Claire wasn't even in her bed. However, Chiharu still found something to stare at: the blood stains. She approached the bed and ran her fingers along the sheets, stopping once they made contact with the red splotches.

"Heya!"

Something tapped Chiharu on the shoulder, prompting her to scream at the top of her lungs before she spun around and saw Claire.

She was still wearing her normal outfit, but her whole hand - save for her fingertips - was wrapped in bandages. Despite what little change there was, that made her look all the more different.

Claire noticed Chiharu was staring at her aforementioned hand and held it up, laughing while doing so. "Preeeeeetty cool, don'tcha think?"

The Mimic lifted her hand off the blood-stained sheets and crossed her arms. "How're you feeling?"

"Suuuuper awesome! The funny bear guy said my wrist won't be the same again, and they almost had to cut my hand off."

"What?!"

"Mhm. I asked 'em if they could've replaced my hand with a cannon, cuz that would've been soooooo cool, y'know? I could've shot stuff outta it, like, _pew pew_!"

The most deadpan reaction in all of human history graced Chiharu's face as she stared at the presumably still-drugged Claire, who pretended to fire off "cannon blasts." It didn't take long before she let out a relieved sigh, however - it was good to see nothing terrible happened to Claire. Sure, she was an idiot and got annoying fairly often, but it was just as Cash said to Nomokuma when they'd all gathered in the grand hall: she had her moments.

"Sooooo why are you here? Shouldn't you be sleeping or something?"

Chiharu tilted her head as she answered. "We~llll, nobody else was coming since it's almost three in the morning, so I figured I'd stick around and update them on how you were doing."

"Makes sense. Aren't a ton of the others, like, under suuuuuper strict security?"

"Mhm. They've been locked in their rooms all night, and will be for another two-and-a-half hours. I'm sure a bunch of-"

Chiharu opened her eyes and noticed Claire was no longer in the room, prompting her to frantically look around a bit before she sprinted out into the hallway. The Etch-a-Sketcher was stationed out there, studying the nearest door with an inquisitive expression. The others were all open and each was empty inside.

She turned to Chiharu and lifted an eyebrow while narrowing an eye. "You'd think there's something in _at least_ one'o these rooms, riiiight?" she asked, opening the one remaining closed door, only to find nothing inside it - just like the others. Claire crossed her arms and huffed.

"Hey... shouldn't you be resting? I mean, you just had surgery on your hand, after all~"

Claire adamantly shook her head. Then she turned to Chiharu with a bright smile and flashed a thumbs up with her bandaged hand, drawing the Mimic's undivided attention. "I can't rest when there's so much exploring to do! C'mon!" The Etch-a-Sketcher headed for the exit - or, what was the entrance when Chiharu came to check on her.

Speaking of whom, she grabbed a hold of Claire's wrist before she could leave the infirmary wing. "Hold on just a second, Claire. You should get more rest before you do anything like that~"

Claire ripped her arm out of Chiharu's grasp, much to the latter's surprise. "Rest is for the weak! That's, like, a law like gravity!"

There was no arguing such infallible logic... if you were an idiot.

"No it's not! Come oo~on, you have to rest up! We need you, otherwise us Guards will have an even bigger numerical disparity!"

A few seconds went by, and then Claire tilted her head just like Chiharu. "A number what-now?"

Chiharu shook her head. "Don't worry about that. Seriously though, you need to get some rest~"

"No way, Jose!" Claire threw her arms around as she spoke. "And before I'm gonna help the Guards, I wanna get Toto back for _this_!" she exclaimed, holding her bandaged left hand up for Chiharu to see.

The aforementioned Mimic tilted her head from one side to the other. "What do you have in mind?"

"A prank!"

A mischievous smile graced Chiharu's face.

"Momo's deeeeefinitely gonna help, so what about you? Are ya in?" Claire offered a toothy grin and elbowed Chiharu in the ribs a few times.

Chiharu adjusted her fox mask so that it covered most of her smile. "We~eeell if it's a prank, you'll need my help." She paused, and Claire leaned forward. "Yeah, I'm in! Let's get him back!"

* * *

 **Day Two, 7:15 A.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, Southwest Wing**

 **Basement**

 **Factory**

Each of Jackie, Kaguya, Koji, and Siyana refrained from speaking as they worked on assembling toy figures of Nomokuma. Ever since the four of them had arrived, they'd make eye-contact every so often and awkwardly hold it before returning to their work. Every so often, one of them would get a word or two out before stopping themselves upon realizing nobody else was listening, or they'd stay silent entirely. Suffice it to say, the atmosphere was... uncomfortable, to put it lightly.

As for the factory itself, there were tons of machines scattered along the work floor that had any number of uses and purposes. The only ones in-use were manufacturing machines, which were automated while the Inmates put toy versions of Nomokuma together. Why? They didn't know, nor did they care. So long as it met the requirements for doing their job, it didn't matter to them in the slightest. Well, for the most part.

30 minutes of silence passed.

"I'm so sick of this!" Jackie shouted as she slammed the head of a Nomokuma toy into its body, nearly breaking the figurine. She then threw it down the conveyer belt and rested her head in her hands.

"As am I, but we mustn't grow agitated so quickly, Jackie," countered Siyana from across the room. She used only her right arm to put together the Nomokuma figurines, and struggled to do so. In fact, she barely managed to keep up with the production.

Kaguya glanced over at Siyana from her station. "Yo, you sure you can keep up?"

"O–Of course." Siyana immediately picked up the pace and churned out a couple more toys than she had prior to that, but even then, her rate of production was lagging well behind everyone else's.

Even Koji, who was nearly falling asleep at his post, was more than a hundred units ahead of her - and everyone else, for that matter. He didn't bother to offer any assistance, however.

"Y'know, I'm not sure why we're doing this, but at least it keeps us active, right?" asked Kaguya. She looked at both of the other girls.

If Jackie was a kettle, steam would've been shooting out of her ears; and Siyana was obviously sweating like nobody's business considering she had all of her gear on.

Koji lifted his head up for no more than a second and inquired, "How– no, _why_ the hell're you all _still_ working on this?"

Jackie's answer came almost instantaneously, drawing Koji's attention. "I'm sure Nomokuma will screw us over if we don't meet his standards for this job."

Siyana sighed. "That, and, as Kaguya put it, it is not as if we have anything better to do at the moment. This is something that allows us to maintain sanity, which is a rather underrated–"

"Oh, enough of that bullshit. We all know someone'll snap sooner or later, right? We could be looking for a way out right now."

Koji's words lingered amongst the group for what felt like an eternity before Kaguya finally answered.

"Absolutely not. If anyone is dumb enough to become a killer under my watch, they have another thing coming."

The Radio Host scoffed and leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head. "Yeah, right. As if you could catch one among eighteen Ultimates. Your ego's about the size of a small nation."

"Ah, go fuck yourself," Kaguya retorted, waving a hand at him. "I can already discount the four of us, given how strong we are mentally."

Jackie raised an eyebrow as she continued to do her work. "By saying that, you're asking for trouble, Kaguya. We've only barely known each other for a day, so making assumptions is asinine."

"Although your choice of words is rather aggressive, I agree," Siyana said, keeping her eyes locked onto the work before her.

"It sounds as if you lot are talking more than you're working."

Gin sauntered into the room with his hands interlocked behind his head while Enji followed him, staring at the ground the whole way.

"Can either of you tell us _why_ we have to do this?" asked Jackie.

Gin shrugged.

Enji stammered, "We–We're just a–a–as... in the dark as you. I–I'm sorry...!"

The Game Reviewer muttered something under her breath inaudibly as she shook her head.

"I find myself more bothered by the fact that we are required to be up so early in the morning," Siyana said, manning her station without even looking at it. "Then again, it is more ideal than suffering any and all repercussions for not following the rules."

"Not when these rules are bullshit. Someone should break them," Koji retorted.

Kaguya looked up from her station and glared daggers at the Radio Host. "That's exactly how criminals think."

"No, criminals take it upon themselves to break rules or laws. I'm not dumb enough to go against whoever's running this thing."

"That's what you say now, but soon enough you'll think it's okay to break them if everyone else is."

"Whatever you say, Officer."

Jackie inquired, "Now that you mention it, who's the most likely of us to break the rules?"

"Claire," Kaguya answered right away. "But she's a Guard."

A second or two passed as everyone nodded.

"That is a good point. Splitting us into two groups is likely meant to stymie potential unity, so why would the more... disruptive personalities be a part of the group with perks?"

Koji rolled his eyes. "It's not rocket science; they're either more likely to abuse the power, or piss us off."

"Makes sense. Plus, it takes most of us out of our element. Imagine if Kaguya was a Guard - it's probably similar to being a cop," Jackie added. "Having her be an Inmate puts her on the other side of the law, so to speak - or out of her element."

Kaguya gave Jackie a thumbs up and smiled. "Fuck, you're right! Good thinking, Ruben!"

 _That'd also explain why she's not such a hard-ass right now, unlike earlier,_ thought Koji.

The Cop spoke up yet again. "But if that's the case for myself, does that mean most of the Guards aren't used to handling positions of power? Or should we assume that they were chosen based on who could be the most inflammatory?"

Jackie crossed her arms and sighed. "Based off what little we know about each other, I hate to assume the latter, but I think that's the basis for deciding who's assigned which role. Then again, this is solely based off of what little I know about Claire, so the others may not fall under that category."

She paused and rested her chin on her hand.

"We could also use Cash as an example similar to you, Kaguya - he's the Ultimate Entrepreneur, so it's safe to assume he's comfortable with being in a position of power."

Silence followed as the rest of the group - the Guards included - was left to ponder what Jackie said.

That is until Nomokuma suddenly sprung out from the floor, defying every law of physics imaginable.

"How's the production going, everyone?"

Once again, silence ensued.

Nomokuma waddled from station to station despite the awkward tension now filling the air as he stroked his chin and nodded. "I see, I see. I'm glad you're all working so hard!"

"Weren't you a lot... dickier yesterday?" Kaguya questioned all of a sudden, drawing everyone's gaze.

"Yeeeeah, sorry about that. I was under a lotta stress making sure things sailed smoothly, y'know?" Nomokuma started to blush. "I mean, this is my first time and I didn't want to let you all down."

"W–Why are you blushing...?"

"Well, I hope we can turn a new leaf and get off to a better start. Keep up the good work, everyone!"

And just like that, Nomokuma threw a smoke bomb against the floor and disappeared by the time it cleared.

Gin stared at where the bear had been standing, tucking his hands into his pant pockets. "That creature's actions and emotions are erratic."

"Erratic or not, Nomokuma's our superior. Like Koji said, it's in everyone's best interest to follow the rules." Kaguya wiped the sweat from her brow and continued to work.

Jackie crossed her arms and shook her head. "Koji _also_ said someone should break the rules since they're bullshit. Putting repercussions aside, I agr–"

"You _can't_ put that aside, and rules are meant to be followed."

Kaguya and Jackie locked eyes, neither backing down from the other. Then, the latter cleared her throat and spoke once again.

"We _can_ when we're thinking of the greater good. You can't be serious about expecting us to follow the rules of the Killing Game, can you?"

"Why is it so hard to believe I mean that? Tell me - are _you_ going to be the one to break these rules right now?"

The Game Reviewer tensed up, and the look in her eyes hardened considerably. "If nobody else will–"

"As much as I would like to agree with you, Jackie, Kaguya is right: the ends do not always justify the means," interjected Siyana as she held her left arm. "You must also consider there may not be repercussions for you alone."

Jackie bit the inside of her cheek and crossed her arms. "I don't care if that's the case, so long as things still end up better in the end."

"Careful." Koji slowly rose from the seat at his station and shot the Game Reviewer a wicked look. "If word got out that you'd screw us over for the 'greater good,' you'd end up with a target on your back."

For someone so short, he certainly didn't seem like it in the moment. Even so, Jackie didn't back down.

"Go ahead. That doesn't change the fact that we need to put an end to this two-party bullshit."

"I believe that's all we needed to hear," Gin announced, startling everyone - Enji included. "You'll be coming with us."

Jackie and Siyana exchanged confused glances with one another, whereas Kaguya and Koji put their heads down and went back to work.

"What for? Last time I checked, we're allowed to say what we want."

Gin scratched the back of his head, an absent look resting on his face. "For starters, that is not an explicit rule so it's within our jurisdiction. Second, even if you were permitted, what you've said could be interpreted as the desire for a coup, and since we're the ones who are supposed to uphold these rules we have sufficient reasoning for removing you from here."

The rest of the room fell silent for the umpteenth time, and everyone was left staring at the seemingly-bored Lawyer. He stared off into space, making it look as if he had his counterargument memorized.

"You stay here with them; I'll take her to Nomokuma."

"I–I'm... uhm..." Enji's voice trailed off as Gin turned to him. "D–Don't you th–th–think you're going overboard...?"

The Lawyer didn't offer any indication that he'd respond as he approached Jackie. "Perhaps. Though it's better to stomp out a fire when it's small rather than allowing it to grow."

He grabbed Jackie by the arm and yanked her out of her seat with no effort whatsoever.

"Hey! Let go!" she shouted, flailing about. Her attempts to break free proved futile, as Gin's grasp tightened and he pulled her out of the room.

The remaining four Ultimates stood around as an awkward silence consumed the room, none of them wanting to be the first to break the ice. That is until someone's Nomopad began to ring.

It didn't take long before they recognized that it was Enji's. He took the call and turned his back to them.

"H–Hello...?"

Enji paused briefly, drawing the attention of each of his three fellow Ultimates.

"A what...?"

A second or two passed.

"O–Okay. I'm on my way..." As Enji finished speaking to whoever just called him, he spun around and looked at Siyana, Koji, and Kaguya. "Sorry, there's a f–f–fight going on right now... I need t–to go..."

Koji was the first one to speak up. "Seriously? Who's fighting?"

The Boxer shrugged, and then he took off without another word.

Both Siyana and Koji stared at him in confusion before turning to each other to discuss the matter, neither paying much - if any - attention to Kaguya. She had a wicked smirk plastered on her face, which was impossible to hide so she didn't bother.

* * *

 **Day Two, 7:18 A.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, West Wing**

 **First Floor**

 **Hallway**

The sound of sloshing rang in everyone's ears as they all dunked their mops into buckets of water before cleaning the floors. What used to be white fabric had turned to brown - though it was bordering onto black, given how much dirt the floors had accumulated.

After Cash wiped the sweat from his brow, he looked around for a moment and observed the others' progress.

Of the three others, Momoko had put in the most work. Setting aside the fact that she'd cleaned two of the hallways on her own, she was responsible for the majority of the progress they'd made on this hallway - all in under twenty minutes... somehow. Then there were Isei and Frances, who were both struggling to even contribute. It was understandable in the latter's case, but the former's? Not so much.

"How the fuck're ya workin' so fast? You're like a goddamn machine!"

The Fire Breather looked up and flashed Cash a bright smile. "I want to finish the job as soon as possible, and do it as well as I can."

"But why?"

"Me and Claire promised Gin we'd help him have fun." Her gaze shifted back to the dirty floor in front of her.

Cash, on the other hand, stopped cleaning and rubbed the back of his head. "Y'know... that could get taken the wrong way."

Frances tilted her head slightly, asking, "Ahm... in wh–what manner?"

Both Momoko and Isei laughed while Cash awkwardly explained what he meant, which resulted in Frances' face turning bright red. She then shook her head with an aghast expression.

"What about you guys? Got any plans after we're done here?" asked Momoko.

"I want to do some jogging around the track, but that's about it. The rest of my schedule's open," Isei replied.

Cash spoke shortly thereafter. "Gonna take some books from the library, then I've gotta talk ta Ayeka 'bout somethin'."

"Oh! Could I please accompany you to the library? I would like to look for more books as well!" Frances exclaimed, setting her teddy bear on her lap before she clapped her hands together.

"Y'know ya don't hafta ask, right?" Cash started mopping the floor once again. "Be my guest."

Momoko threw her mop down and rushed over to Cash. "Wait wait wait! What do you have to talk to her about?"

"It's rude to press for answers like that, darling," Isei said.

The Entrepreneur didn't seem to mind, though, as he answered her question. "I dunno. She said it was important, so I told'er okay."

A devilish smirk appeared on Momoko's face as she continued to eye Cash. He couldn't help but chuckle and turn away from her, instead opting to focus on the few dirty spots left on the floor.

"Enough talking. Back to work!"

The Inmates all turned their heads to see Toto strolling down the hallway with Black by his side.

 _Oh great, this asshole,_ Cash thought as he rolled his eyes.

Momoko jumped up and down, retorting, "Aww, come on! We're almost done, so can't we have a little bit of fun?"

"No. You're _Inmates_ for a reason."

Isei and Cash glared at the Lion Tamer while Momoko and Frances went back to cleaning their floors, both keeping quiet. The boys kept their eyes fixed on Toto, neither doing much - if any - work, as he approached the girls while they finished up the last bit of cleaning. Or rather, it was Momoko who carried the load as Frances struggled to do much, if anything, to keep pace with the Fire Breather.

Toto placed his hand on the left arm of her wheelchair, prompting her to stop cleaning.

She turned to face the older boy, although after a nanosecond of eye-contact, she turned away and looked at the ground, trembling. "M–M... May I help you?"

"You could if you did any work. Pick up the pace!"

Frances recoiled in the face of Toto's harsh tone, and as soon as he lifted his hand from the arm of her wheelchair she went back to mopping the floor as fast as she could. Clearly she wasn't fast enough, as Toto's hand slammed down on the back of her wheelchair just moments later, drawing everyone's attention.

Even Black stared as his friend spun Frances around so that their eyes locked. The Alchemist looked away in an instant and clutched her teddy bear, and a vein popped out of Toto's head. He ripped the teddy bear out of Frances' hands before she could register what was happening and waved it around the air.

"Maybe you didn't hear me. I said to pick up the pace!"

Frances trembled in Toto's shadow.

"Or do you want this stupid thing to become black's new chew-toy?"

"No, please! A–A–Anything but that!"

The Lion Tamer continued to wave Frances' teddy bear back and forth until, suddenly, Cash grabbed ahold of the collar of his shirt and snatched the teddy bear out of his hands. The aforementioned Entrepreneur suddenly tossed the stuffed toy to Isei, all the while holding Toto's gaze, and then he slammed him against the wall.

"Think you're tough pickin' on a little girl?"

A second passed, and then Toto spat in Cash's face.

"Release me at once, Human," the former muttered, "or suffer the consequences."

Before Cash could rear his arm back to punch Toto square in the face, he heard Black growling right behind him. Although he initially didn't release his grasp on Toto's collar, Cash eventually wiped the spit off his face and released his hold of the Lion Tamer.

Then, without a moment's hesitation, Momoko exhaled a massive body of fire, igniting the floor in the process. Strangely enough, it looked as if there was a straight line running along the ground from her right to Toto, and before everyone knew it, the Lion Tamer was screaming at the top of his lungs.

His head had caught on fire, while Black's tail did as well. The latter immediately bolted out of the hallway and disappeared, his cries echoing from several hallways away whereas Toto's were silent, for the most part. They eventually cancelled out Black's likely cries for help, filling the room and deafening everyone until, finally, he ran off at the speed of light.

Isei immediately turned to the Fire Breather.

"Oh my god, Momoko. Were you trying to kill him?!"

Momoko laughed and tapped the toe of her right sneaker against the floor at a rapid speed. "Of course not! I just wanted to prank him, is all."

Frances clutched her teddy bear. "Th–That was... a prank?"

"Uh... yeeeeah? Haven't you guys ever pulled one before?"

Isei, Cash, and Frances eyed one another before shifting their gazes back towards Momoko, with the Photojournalist saying, "Sure, but you must be confused. _That_ wasn't a prank."

She waved a hand and, in doing so, waved off his opinion without a second thought. "I guess you just don't get it, but that's OKAY!" she shouted while mopping up what was left of the dirty floor.

"What the actual fuck is wrong with 'er?" Cash whispered to his fellow Inmates. Isei shrugged while Frances shook her head.

"Please do not speak of anyone in such a manner. Not only does it reflect poorly on them, but you as well."

Cash rubbed the back of his head for a moment. "Nah, fuck that. She's nuts."

"You guys have done a good job cleaning this place up."

Everyone glanced at Ayeka, who'd just arrived out of the blue, as she yawned, not once looking at the floor, eye rolls from everyone not named Momoko.

"A really good job." She sounded genuine, despite not looking it. It was hard, really hard, to tell if she meant what she was saying.

"Speakin' o' nuts..."

While the others kept up their work - or went back to it, in the Entrepreneur's case - Momoko bolted over to Ayeka and pointed at Cash. Then, in an obnoxiously loud voice, she 'whispered,' "So what do you need to talk to _him_ about? Hmmm?" She jabbed Ayeka in the ribs once before her elbow was swatted away.

"Well, I wanted to confess my feelings in private... but..." Ayeka blushed and shook her head.

Momoko gasped sharply and her eyes nearly shot out of their sockets.

"I'm kidding, you idiot." And just like that, the Psychologist's face returned to its normal hue and bored expression. "Can none of you tell a joke from the truth?"

 _Not when you're the one talking,_ each of Isei, Frances, and Cash thought as they stared at her.

"Jokes aside, I'm impressed by how nicely things are coming together here."

Momoko flashed the Psychologist a bright smile and jumped up and down. "Oh yeah! We've been working real hard to–"

Frances whispered to Cash, "Will no one say a thing about Tot–"

He cut her off by placing his index finger against his lips. She nodded and shut her mouth within nanoseconds.

"Why are the Guards watching over us, darling?" asked Isei, drawing everyone's attention. With his eyes glued to Ayeka, he ignored both Momoko's pouting and Frances' whispering.

The Psychologist twirled her hair with one finger and eyed Isei in return. As usual, her face was devoid of any emotion. "Nomokuma added a new rule yesterday that us Guards had to watch you guys do your work, although he didn't specify when we had to - or for how long." She rested both of her hands on her curvaceous hips and raised an eyebrow. "Does that answer your question?"

Isei nodded in response to the sarcastic question, and then Frances raised her hand. "So... ahm... will y–you stay for the time being?"

Ayeka shook her head. Then she yawned. With a nonchalant wave of her hand, she spun around and headed back the way she came from, only to stop on a dime. "Oh, that's right. I almost forgot..." She paused and began to fiddle with her pendant. "There was an incident last night involving Claire, Toto, and Black."

"Whaddya mean by, 'an incident'?"

A devilish grin appeared on the Psychologist's face, which faded away nanoseconds before she spun on her heels to face Cash - and, to a lesser extent, the others. Her expression was one of grave concern, drawing the quartet's undivided attention.

"The fuck happened?"

She could barely contain her excitement.

"You didn't hear it from me, but Toto had Black bite Claire. The injury was so bad that she was taken to the emergency room right away." Met with silence, Ayeka continued. "Chiharu updated us on her status, and has been with her the whole time. I checked on Claire earlier this morning, but she was asleep."

While Isei and Frances gasped, Momoko bit her lower lip and Cash marched towards the Psychologist.

"So how the fuck's she doin'?"

It looked as if Ayeka was about to speak, but no words came out of her mouth. She then lowered her gaze and sighed underneath her breath. "Her wrist has permanent damage, but she should be fine, otherwise."

Without another word, she headed towards the exit until Cash's hand landed on her shoulder and forcefully spun her around.

"Hey! What are y–"

Both of his hands clamped down upon her shoulders, forcing her to lock eyes with him. With how wide open they were, and his nostrils flared, his fury was evident.

"Go get him," he muttered in a low, almost inaudible tone.

Ayeka shook free of his hold but kept her eyes locked with his for a couple of seconds, ultimately conceding with a nod and pulling out a pair of earphones along with her Nomopad. She plugged the earphones into the device and then sifted through her contacts until she found Toto.

Cash peered over Ayeka's shoulder the whole time, only turning away after she clicked on the Lion Tamer's name and called him. Even then, he waited right by her side and followed her as she paced around, waiting for Toto to pick up.

It didn't take long before Ayeka muted her end of the call, took one of her earbuds out, and turned around to glare at Cash. "You know, I _love_ having someone glued to me... not."

"Y'know ya didn't need the 'not' at the end, right? As hard as ya are ta read, _that_ was obvious." The Entrepreneur scowled. "Fuckin' idiot."

Ayeka turned away from Cash while fiddling with the pendant hanging from her neck and began to talk shortly thereafter - probably to Toto, who had responded to her call. She seemingly allowed him - Toto - to get the first word in, given the fact that the call was picked up on his end and a few seconds passed before she spoke.

"Well, why aren't you on site? We decided on this yesterday."

The Psychologist lowered her Nomopad and glanced at Cash, who was leaning forward and biting his lower lip. She waved her hand at him as if to say, "relax."

"Look, I don't care about excuses. Get over here ASAP, or else I'll report you to Nomokuma for–" She paused. "Oh, that's the game we're playing? Okay, you have one minute."

Ayeka ended the call the instant she finished speaking, removed her earbuds, and gave the room a sweeping glance. Everyone stared at her silently before they went back to cleaning the hall, save for Cash.

As he cracked his knuckles, he asked, "Why'd he have that cat bite 'er?"

"I don't know; I wasn't there."

"Don't bullshit me. One o' the other Guards must'a told ya, cuz ya said somethin' about a plan." Cash cracked his neck and glared at Ayeka. "If the lot o' ya did that, then ya must'a heard 'bout what happened."

The blonde sighed. "Yes, I _heard_ she was bitten, but–"

"Fuck it. Ya won't say shit, not that it matters." Cash interjected. "Make sure ya stay outta the way, got it? That goes for all'o ya! I'm gonna make sure that motherfucker talks."

Isei, Frances, and Momoko stopped cleaning for a moment to look Cash's way. They nodded in unison and moved away from him right away, drawing Ayeka's attention. She returned her gaze to Cash, but a second or two later he was on the move. His footsteps were no longer the only ones she and the others heard, someone else had just arrived: Toto.

Bits and pieces of his clothes were singed, and part of his ponytail had been burned off.

He quickly stormed towards Ayeka, ignoring everyone else as his sights were locked on her. "You better listen, Human! Don't order m–"

Cash grabbed Toto by the throat with one hand and slammed him against the wall with the force of a high-speed truck. The sound of all the air leaving Toto's lungs echoed throughout the room and bore into everyone's ears.

None of his fellow Inmates dared to say a word in protest, nor did the Psychologist. They didn't even watch. However, Ayeka was already back on her Nomopad and had made a call before anyone could even blink, whispering into the mic on her earbuds about there being a fight or something.

Toto scratched and clawed at Cash's arm, managing to draw blood, but the latter didn't flinch. He pressed his hand against Toto's throat even harder. That did the trick, as both of Toto's hands clamped down on Cash's and tried to push his away, but to no avail.

While Toto desperately gasped for air, his eyes met Cash's.

"It's funny. Now that your cat ain't here, ya can't do _anything_ ta stop me right now." Cash's eyes opened wider with each passing second, and he applied more force to Toto's throat. "I could even crush your throat right fuckin' now."

All of a sudden, Toto started to kick at Cash. The result was the same as when he scratched his arm: Cash didn't react in the slightest. He didn't so much as flinch. It was almost as if he was unaware of Toto's struggling, and every blow he received. There was only one thing on his mind at that moment, and the look in his eyes reflected it.

"Cash..."

There was no response.

"Cash, let him go," Ayeka ordered. Her tone was... soft. It sounded more like she was asking- no, begging him to listen. "You don't want to do this."

"Yeah, I do. This piece'a shit thinks he's tough for makin' his fuckin' _pet_ ," Cash spat in Toto's face, "bite a girl. He deserves ta die."

Ayeka inched her way towards him with both of her palms facing straight ahead. She'd taken her earbuds out and pressed her Nomopad against her side with her arm. "I understand you're angry, and I would be too if he did anything like that to my friend, but–"

"But nothin'."

Cash reared his arm back and, with all his might, smashed his fist against Toto's face. A bone-chilling crack followed almost immediately after impact. Everyone present knew Toto's nose was broken, or perhaps even shattered beyond the point of repair.

The same question ran through everyone's mind in some for another: _There's no way he's going to kill Toto, is there?_

Cash pushed against the Lion Tamer's throat harder. If that didn't answer their internal question, they didn't know what would've.

Naturally, Ayeka was the one to take charge. She was not only a Guard - someone who held authority over the Inmates - but also a Psychologist. Surely she had something up her sleeve.

"You're a straight-shooter, aren't you, Cash?"

The aforementioned young man turned ever so slightly to keep her in his peripheral.

"Let me cut to the chase. If you kill - let me repeat that: _kill_ Toto - then you're giving up your own life. Don't you have some kind of influence in your community, or outside of it? There has to be something important to you that you're unwilling to give up."

She had a point. Given his money and stature in the world at such a young age, surely he could make a difference on a global scale. But he didn't see it that way, not in the heat of the moment.

"Let's say I kill this fucker. It'll be alllll over tha news, and all'o ya, bein' the good people ya are, would tell tha truth 'bout what happened between him an' Claire. I ain't got shit to lose, and my intentions are good."

A bead of sweat rolled down Ayeka's forehead. _What the fuck can I do here? His logic is fairly sound, and he seems too hardheaded to understand my point of view!_ She paused for a moment. _Then again... it's one less person here that I have to worry about. No! That mentality's–_

"Cash, please stop! You're scaring me."

Frances approached him, pushing her wheelchair forward. The look on her face matched the tone with which she spoke.

Although she nearly snapped at the Alchemist, Ayeka shut her mouth just in time as Cash loosened his hold on Toto's throat enough for the aforementioned Ultimate to breathe.

She clutched the teddy bear that had been resting on her lap with her left arm. "Would you _please_ let him go? I understand your anger, but I do not want to see you act in such an... evil manner."

Cash refused to meet her gaze, and he released his hold on Toto without putting up a fight.

The Lion Tamer fell to the floor and gasped for air at Cash's feet.

All of a sudden, a blur went from the entrance to the hallway all the way to Cash, and struck him with an uppercut. Frances, Momoko, and Isei gasped while Ayeka covered her mouth, all of them watching Cash's limp body crash to the ground. Nobody could get so much as a word in, as all of them were left speechless.

Standing there, over Cash's seemingly-lifeless body, was Enji. His fist was above his head - it looked as if he delivered the most wicked uppercut in human history. The threat of a public murder had been defused.

* * *

 **Day Two, 3:42 P.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, South Wing**

 **Second Floor**

 **Cells**

Otoha eyed the two bowls of rice, and then her fellow inmates. There were seven of them, including herself, and another five who weren't present. That meant they'd each have only one-sixth of a bowl of rice if they were to split their food evenly.

As the Astrogeologist gazed at their "meal" for the day, Dulcinea marched up to both bowls and pointed at them while facing everyone else. "How does Nomokuma expect us to live off of _this_?" she shouted.

"He doesn't," Fay answered immediately. She was sitting in the corner of the room by herself. "He wants someone to become desperate enough to kill, and starvation is one of the easiest means to accomplish that."

Frances clutched her teddy bear. "What about the Guards? Is their food situation similar to ours?"

"I highly doubt it," replied Isei. "If the goal is to inspire a murder, there's no better way than giving only one group privileges. That will foster hatred and resentment amongst our group, and thus lead to a murder."

"Picture Boy's right. The odds of an 'Inmate' committing a murder, rather than a 'Guard' have increased exponentially."

Siyana let out a sigh as she held her left arm, drawing the attention of everyone, save for Fay. "Nomokuma's given us just enough to stave off starvation, but nothing more. How cruel."

"That's fucked up," Koji muttered, spitting out each word venomously.

"Assuming we each eat an equal amount, I'd give it no more than three- no, two days before someone snaps." Fay buried her hands even deeper into the pockets of her capris. "If need be, some of us will have to sacrifice a portion of our meal, if not the entire thing, in order to keep others sane and happy."

"Does that not seem rather... extreme, Miss Fay?" inquired Siyana.

The 3D Printer nodded. In doing so, she grabbed everyone's undivided attention unlike when she first spoke. "But it makes sense, does it not?"

The others fell silent for a moment and either eyed the ground or kept their sights locked on her.

"The more muscular types like Sherl- uh... Cash, the Matador, and the Cop will require more sustenance in order to operate at the same capacity as the rest of us. Given our circumstances - with the Guards 'against' us, so to speak - it's best to remain a united front, even if the cost is short-term pain."

Throughout Fay's whole time talking, Dulcinea tapped her toes against the ground, only to stop when the aforementioned Ultimate finally finished speaking and closed her mouth.

"Do you expect everyone to raise their hands and forfeit some, if not all of their rations just to appease a few of the group?" She paused and narrowed her eyes, giving her words time to sink in before continuing. "Unless you volunteer to give up some of yours, why the hell would we?"

Fay scoffed. "I have no intention of doing so, not after informing you all of our situation."

"Then why bring up such an issue if you won't be the one to take charge in this front, darling?" Isei retorted.

Koji tugged at the collar of his shirt slightly. "Yeah, that's a shitty position to put us in."

"Unfortunately... I'm in–inclined to... agree. Although I–I... _do_ see there is merit to Fay bringing such a matter to our attention," Frances stammered.

"I hope you all realize giving up portions of your meals doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things," Koji muttered as he leaned against the wall. "We're all going to die here, you're just prolonging the inevitable."

It looked as if Isei was ready to spit in disgust. "Your nihilistic outlook is growing old, Koji. It would best serve you to adopt a new mindset."

"S'that really the most pressing issue to you right now? You're dumber than you look."

Otoha rushed forward and put herself in-between the two, sticking her arms out as if she was trying to stop them from charging at one another even though neither so much as made a move. "Settle down!"

Her words proved to be effective, however, as silence swept over the room.

The Astrogeologist eyed both Isei and Koji before taking a deep breath. "Look, I get that we all have our opinions and that this is a stressful situation - we want to jump down each other's throats. But we need to allow for there to be a dialogue so that we can hear every point of view. Why don't we all take a deep breath and go one at a time? Let's start with Isei, then Frances."

"Thank you," the Photojournalist said before clearing his throat. "Regardless of ability to contribute to our daily assignments, it's unfair for some - if not all - of us to surrender our share of food to those who you deem more physically capable just for the sake of 'our' protection. If you were to have volunteered to do so before anyone else, that would be a different story, but you didn't, nor have you."

He crossed his arms and shook his head at Fay, who merely turned to Frances, as if expecting the Alchemist to begin speaking right away.

Clutching her teddy bear, she did. "F–Fay's reasoning is sound, so... I am w–wi–willing to give a portion of my rations to one of the three people she has mentioned."

Dulcinea rolled her eyes. "I don–"

"Fine, I'll give up some of mine too," Koji interjected, eliciting a glare from the Runner-Up. "I'm a small guy, so I don't need as many calories as the rest of you."

Siyana grabbed her left arm and sighed. "While I understand the reasoning, I am unwilling to surrender any amount of my rations, no matter how small. It will prove difficult to survive on our allotted portions, so I have no interest in lowering my odds of survival."

Fay nodded. Despite not smiling, or showing any positive reinforcement, it was obvious that she understood the Explosives Engineer's position. "That's fair, but I'll give them a quarter of my food for the sake of group cohesion."

"Fuck that, I'm not giving away any of mine," Dulcinea said, spitting each word venomously.

Otoha tugged at the bottom of her sweater for a moment. "I'm willing to give up some of mine. We should all know that peace is more important than anything right now - even hunger."

"You know, how you just put it rubs me the wrong way," Koji spat. "It's like you're trying to guilt-trip the others into giving up their food."

Nodding, Dulcinea added, "Seriously. That's bullshit, no matter how you look at it."

Although she didn't physically breathe a sigh of relief, Fay did so mentally. _I'm fortunate they didn't notice I said the same thing._

Isei nearly spat at them. "No, what's truly 'bullshit,' as you put it, is what Toto has allegedly done to Claire. That, and Cash being knocked out - and maybe even punished - for choking him after finding out about it."

"Wait, _what_ happened?!"

From across the room, Koji responded. "He said Cash got knocked the fuck out after he choked that freak."

"Thanks. Like I didn't know that," Dulcinea retorted, hissing each word. "Why the hell would Cash do that, let alone in front of another Guard?"

"Ayeka told him that Toto ordered Black to bite Claire, and he snapped," Isei said right away, eliciting a nod from Frances. "To think those two - Cash and Claire, that is - developed that close of a relationship in such a short period of time..."

"For the time being, their friendship is none of our concern. _If_ it happens to affect us in the future, then we should worry about it," Otoha opined while stroking her chin. She then turned to Siyana. "What are your thoughts? You saw Jackie get whisked off, didn't you?"

The Explosives Engineer nodded. "Indeed, Koji and I did. However, I would like to return back to your initial point. Their relationship may have very well affected us already."

Otoha raised an eyebrow.

"For someone with such an impressive talent, you're an idiot," Koji hissed, generating a scowl from the Astrogeologist. "Kaguya, Jackie, Siyana, and I talked about this at length: just because one person acts out doesn't mean repercussions will fall solely upon them. For better or worse, we could be identified as a group - not individuals."

"What're you trying to say?" inquired Dulcinea.

Koji and Siyana exchanged glances before the latter nodded, as if to say she would deliver the news. "To put it simply, we are all viewed as one, for the most part. Despite initial punishment, such as what Jackie and Momoko are likely to be subjected to, every action we take will reflect upon everyone else. Please make note of that prior to engaging in, or instigating, anything."

"It appears the same has happened to the reviewer and Sherlock, as well." Fay didn't move from her seat in the corner of the room, which was as far away from everyone as she could possibly get. "I agree with your line of thought," she added, motioning towards Koji and Siyana. "It's likely we'll incur the wrath of Nomokuma on their behalf in the not-so-distant future."

Dulcinea almost spat in Fay's direction, but ultimately refrained from doing so. Instead, she posed a question. "What makes you so confident about that, huh?"

"Did you not listen to them, or are you truly that incapable of following such simple logic?" She sighed, ignoring Dulcinea's visible irritation. "As of right now, we are considered 'Inmates,' whereas the other six are 'Guards.' Nomokuma made it a point that those within each group receive the same treatment. 'Punishment' was unspecified."

"Forgive me, darling, but you've lost me as well," Isei interjected, eliciting another sigh of disgust from Fay.

She buried her hands deeper into her jacket pockets and rolled her eyes. "We could assume that punishments, while potentially on a lesser scale than the ones received by perpetrators, may also be doled out to the rest of us. It's unclear at the moment, but I suggest you brace yourselves by assuming it'll be the case."

Frances clutched onto her teddy bear so tightly she put it into a stranglehold, which drew the attention of Dulcinea for a brief moment.

"You're pretty shitty at preparing people before you deliver bad news, aren't you?"

"Reality and efficiency take precedence over caring for the well-being of others, especially in a scenario such as the one we're currently in."

The Runner-Up bit the inside of her mouth and did everything in her power to keep from charging at Fay and tearing her to pieces right then and there.

"Anyways," Koji said as he pressed his back against the wall and slid down until he reached the floor, "the Guards are a bunch of assholes."

Isei crossed his arms. "Although I hate to agree with such a vulgar way of putting it, you aren't wrong. Toto's fortunate to not be an Inmate, otherwise he'd likely be a target for a multitude of reasons - chief among them being Black."

"You can say that again. Even that precious pet wouldn't be able to protect him," Dulcinea opined.

Siyana held her left arm. "Gin is rather... aggravating, as well. Removing him from this environment - not killing, mind you - would be ideal. Based on the events that have occurred today, he has taken to his role quite quickly."

"Fuck that guy; he's a lunatic," Koji added.

Otoha interlocked her fingers and stretched several times as she said, "I'd say he's _the_ most dangerous Guard, even more so than Toto."

"Did something happen?" inquired Frances.

She nodded and then sighed. "He's strange, to put it lightly - strange enough to tell Antonio and me that he was contemplating murder when we asked him what his thoughts were at that moment."

Everyone locked their eyes onto Otoha, and she noticed.

Shifting the weight from her left foot to her right, she continued. "I believe he doesn't know right from wrong, because when we reacted he seemed genuinely confused."

"That's funny, cuz Enji was questioning him about punishing Jackie just for saying stuff," Koji said.

Siyana rubbed her chin and looked at the ground. "Although it is unfortunate that he may truly not understand certain moral complexities, it does make him the most dangerous of the lot."

"Hold on a second, please," Isei interjected. "Koji, what is it that Enji did?"

The Radio Host smirked ever so slightly and crossed his arms. "Glad one of you picked up on that."

It took a moment for everyone to get what he meant.

"It is abundantly clear that there is a fracture of some sorts between the Guards." Frances fiddled with her teddy bear.

"There's also the incident between Toto and Claire," added Fay before she turned to Isei. "You mentioned that Chi..."

"Chiharu."

"Yes, her. You said that she was the only one with Claire after that injury, correct?"

Isei nodded.

Fay buried her hands even deeper into her hoodie's pockets.

"What the hell are you getting at?" the Runner-Up snapped.

All of a sudden, Otoha's eyes lit up. "Gin and Toto are the ones causing problems. Enji questioned the former, Claire was injured by the latter, and Chiharu stayed with Claire the whole time, so from that we can discern the fracture!"

"One side consists of Gin and Toto, and the other is Enji, Claire, and Chiharu?" Siyana inquired.

Dulcinea added, "Then Ayeka's the only one who's neutral. Not surprising, considering she's a Psychologist."

Isei shook his head. "I don't believe so. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't know what transpired behind closed doors."

"So... she's against Gin and Toto?"

"It sounds as if that is the case, yes," Siyana affirmed.

Koji couldn't help but groan, garnering some attention in the process. He immediately rolled his eyes. "Go figure the fat cats are already at each other's throats thanks to some delusional sense of power _gifted_ to them."

"That's the point of this 'motive' though, isn't it?" Otoha looked around the room for someone to back her up.

"Not my point." Koji rose to his feet and scowled. "It took us no more than twenty minutes to come together, for the most part, on rations. Those fuckheads are given all the power they could want, yet they're fighting amongst each other because of it, which they didn't even earn. Fuck 'em all."

"I'm with you. Shit won't change unless we make it," Dulcinea opined.

* * *

 **Day Two, 3:52 P.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, North Wing**

 **Fourth Floor**

 **Luxury Rooms**

"Holy guacamole! Cash-Cow's in the nurse's office?!"

"Are you serious? It's called an infi~iirmary, Claire. You were _just_ there!"

"An infuuurna-what?"

"Never mind." Chiharu shook her head. "We might as well check on him since we have the day off thanks to that," she said, pointing at Claire's bandaged hand.

Gin scratched the back of his head and stared at the two girls with a blank expression. "Why would you visit someone who's been injured, if not to take their life?"

"Yeah, I'm with Jim on this one! Nurse's offices are, like, suuuu–"

Chiharu reached up as high as she could to place a hand over Claire's mouth while still looking Gin's way. "Jesus Christ, Gin. When people are sick or hurt, you're suppo~ooosed to be there to support them, not kill. It's the right thing to do."

"The... right thing?" Gin stroked his chin. "Very well, I have decided that I will join you."

"Do whatever you want, save for killing Cash."

With that, the trio of Chiharu, Claire, and Gin exited their living quarters and headed east to the infirmary. The Mimic led with her eyes glued to her Nomopad, whereas Gin and Claire trailed several yards back and examined every inch of the hallway they were walking down.

"When will you and that other girl be showing me what 'fun' is?"

Claire spun on her heels in a flash to face him. "I dunno. Soon, I guess."

The Lawyer glanced at her, then nodded.

"But don't worry! I think I've got something, it just needs a liiiiiitle more time." She beamed, as if to reassure him.

"I never worry," he replied monotonously.

"You too?" Claire paused. "Gosh. We have soooooooo much in common!"

"We do not."

"Oh yeah, I guess you're right!"

They continued on quietly until Chiharu turned around and eyed both of them suspiciously.

"I expected to hear more conversation out of you two. How bo~oooring."

Gin yawned. "What you find 'boring,' I find peaceful. If dialogue is what you so desire, then why not initiate it yourself?"

"Can't take a joke, huh? Oh~hhh well."

"I could not discern that it was a joke. Perhaps your comedic abilities are lacking, if not non-existent."

" _You_ could tell, couldn't you?" Chiharu ignored Gin's sharp response in favor of eyeing Claire, only to find she was busy with her Etch-a-Sketch. "What're you drawing?"

Claire didn't respond. Her eyes were wide, very wide, and glued to the screen.

Chiharu waited for her and Gin to catch up in order to get a look. Her jaw dropped as soon as she laid eyes on the photo-realistic leopard, though she was unable to keep up with how quickly and perfectly Claire shaded it.

Not another word was said until the trio arrived at the infirmary, marching through the doors as each of the members had a different reaction - Gin surveyed the entrance, Claire doodled on her Nomopad, and Chiharu called for Nomokuma.

None of them noticed Enji sitting off in the far right corner, holding a magazine up near his face as if he was trying to hide his identity, until he stood up and made his presence known.

"Wh–What are you doing here...?"

"We could ask the same of you," Gin retorted right away.

Enji visibly tensed up for a moment before he sighed. "I'm the o–one who knocked Cash ou–ou–out..."

Claire opined, "Why? That's preeeetty mean, if you ask me."

"He almost killed Toto. I–I had too..."

"Would it not have been better to allow that?" Gin inquired as he stroked his chin. "The 'trial' would have been unnecessary, and there would be two fewer people standing between ourselves and survival."

"Holy woah! You sure are smart, Jim!"

Chiharu punched Claire in the side.

"Ow!"

"No he's not! We all can get out of here without killing!"

Claire rubbed her side for a moment. "Holy woah! You sure are smart, Chi!"

Both the Mimic and Boxer shook their heads while sighing.

All of a sudden, Nomokuma walked through the doors to the patients wing doing the same as them.

"Hi, Mister Bear!" Claire exclaimed, waving.

"You guys are a bunch of savages, y'know?" asked Nomokuma, ignoring Claire's greeting. "It's day two, and that's already the _SECOND_ injury I've had to take care of! Do me a favor and just kill each other, please." Grumbling, the tiny bear waddled past them and out of the infirmary.

"Bye, Mister Bear!"

Chiharu marched towards the patient rooms along with Gin, who scratched the back of his head and stared into space. Claire followed after them with Enji and, before she knew it, found herself standing in the doorframe of Cash's room.

Surprisingly, the Entrepreneur was awake and already talking to Chiharu as he gingerly rubbed his jaw.

"I thought Enji was lyin' about bein' a boxer. God damn, can you throw a fuckin' punch!"

Enji rubbed the back of his head and stifled a laugh. Was it the appropriate time to joke about what he'd done?

"You're... not mad?" Chiharu inquired.

Cash shook his head. "Nah, he did that ta keep me from killin' Toto." He paused and stared at his hands. "If I pressed on his throat just a lil' harder, that motherfucker'd be dead, and I would'a been, too." He turned his attention towards the Boxer and bowed as best he could. "Thanks."

"No n–n–need to thank me..."

"Waaaaaaait, how'd you get past Black?"

The instant he felt something press on his bed and he heard Claire's voice, Cash turned his head to the left and saw her leaning towards him. Her hands were planted firmly into the mattress and she looked him straight in the eyes with an inquisitive expression.

He broke eye-contact when glancing at her bandaged hand, sighing after he did so. "So she _was_ tellin' the truth."

Claire tilted her head while Chiharu and Gin glanced at each other.

The Lawyer inquired, "Who are you referring to?"

"Ayeka. She said Black bit Claire an' fucked up her hand or somethin', an' that you," he said, pointing at Chiharu, "were with 'er the whole time."

The Mimic tapped her chin with one finger. "I wa~aas, but why'd she tell you that? You're not a Guard."

"The fuck does that hafta to with it?!"

"Cashtopher's right! Guard or not, Eye-Ache-Ugh loves him!"

The room fell silent.

Cash stared at Claire for a moment, blinked slowly, and then inhaled. "Who the _fuck_ is that?!"

Gin stepped forward, paying no mind to Claire's idiocy. "It was merely a joke told by Ayeka in order to deflect attention from the real reason she needed to speak to you. Do you not recall this happening?"

Chiharu jabbed a finger at Gin. "How do you? You weren't even the~ere."

"My apologies. Momoko informed me of the, and I quote, 'juicy details.'" He used air quotes to emphasize the description. "Despite the adjective she applied to said information, I found it to be anything but that."

All the Entrepreneur could do was shake his head and look away from the trio of idiots who had come to visit - and Enji. There was no way he could talk to Claire, the biggest idiot; he had no idea what Chiharu would say; and Gin was like an AI learning how to be human. Suffice it to say, his options were, as he'd put it, "shit."

He sighed. "So the fuck d'ya want, anyway?"

"I second the inquiry," muttered Gin, only to receive a swift elbow to the ribs from Chiharu.

Once again, Claire slammed her hands down on the edge of his bed. "Friends are s'posed to check on each other, right? Second flo– I mean, best floor's gotta stick together!"

She offered him a smile, as did Chiharu. Gin, meanwhile, stared at the ceiling and counted the dirt marks on it while Enji nervously cracked his fingers.

"Well fuck, I wasn't expectin' ya ta pull this type'a shit. It's 'preciated though." Cash looked away for a moment and laughed to himself before returning his gaze to both girls. "So why don'tcha fill me in on what bein' a Guard's like, huh? I betcha get fancy food an' shit."

"I got some awwwwwesome food, but I also got bitten." Claire raised her bandaged hand, eliciting a hearty laugh from her bedridden Ultimate.

"Well, it's not like we're stocked with great food," Chiharu countered. She then pointed at Enji. "He's just a really good cook."

The Boxer sighed. "That's not true. We h–have lots o–o–of high quality food..."

Chiharu brought her hand up to her cheek and gave him a confused look. "Really? Huh."

"Indeed. The fruit appears to be substituted for freshly picked alternatives each day," added Gin.

Cash let out an audible sigh as he scrolled through the messages on his Nomopad. "Apparently all we get is two bowls'a rice ta split for the day. What a load'a shit."

The Mimic's ears perked up all of a sudden, and an ear-to-ear smirk stretched across her face. _I'm sure I could fix that problem... for the right price._

* * *

 **Day Three, 6:06 P.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, Southwest Wing**

 **First Floor**

 **Kitchen**

Antonio threw his mop against the ground and rested his hands on his hips. "Can one of you tell me why _I_ have to clean this place?"

"S–Sorry, but that's how things... turned o–o–out..." said Enji. "You're an Inmate..."

"No need to worry! I can do all of this!"

Enji shook his head. "I'm afraid... everyone m–must contribute."

Momoko pouted and then turned to Antonio. "Sorry, San Antonio, but you heard the big boss."

A scowl formed on Enji's face. _'San Antonio'? Don't tell me she got that from Claire._

"Anyways, I'll take care of the mold over there if you can wash the floors. AFTER we finish those, we'll scrape the gum off the tables."

Antonio continued to pout, but he ultimately picked up his mop and went back to work while Momoko bounded towards the kitchen and did the same. The trio went silent for a good while, Enji watching them work while they focused on finishing as soon as possible. That is until...

"S–So... um, I've been wondering..."

Both Antonio and Momoko looked his way while still cleaning.

"How much food do you get...?"

"Si–" He paused and smacked himself in the face. "T–Two! Two bowls of rice for all of us!"

Enji continued to eye the ground as he shook his head. "U–Us Guards should sneak you all some food." He paused, taking a deep breath. "We don't w–w–want anyone committing murder, do we?"

"No, of course not." Enji exhaled mentally. _Thank God I didn't blow Chiharu's cover._

Within nanoseconds, Momoko flashed Enji a thumbs up and smiled cheekily. "I'm one-hundred-percent on board with THAT! Thanks, Enj!"

The Boxer nodded.

"Saaaay, do you think I could bake something for everyone? We don't have any ingredients, but you could get 'em, right?"

Enji took a moment to consider the offer, whereas Antonio screamed, "You can bake?!"

The Fire Breather bounced on her toes and nodded. "ANYWAYS, I'll go clean the kitchen. Can you take care of this lil' section?"

"Of course! Thank you for taking on that responsibility," Antonio said before covering his mouth, memories of the moldy area flooding his mind. How Momoko was going to clean it was beyond him, but that wasn't his problem.

"Hey, Enj, can you take a look at the second floor? I want to know how much work we have left."

"S–Sure..."

Momoko and Enji headed in opposite directions, with her disappearing into the kitchen and him walking up the nearest flight of stairs. He surveyed the disgusting floor, which was even dirtier than the ground level had been prior to them cleaning it, and his face twisted at the sight.

Meanwhile, the Fire Breather went to work on the mold-covered walls with a brush. _This place is SO gross! Otoha wasn't kidding when she sent those notes._ Pushing her thoughts aside, Momoko continued to scrape the mold off the wall and worked further into the kitchen, passing by all sorts of cooking utensils and appliances until she stepped on a pot and fell over.

"OW!"

She rubbed the side of her head before slowly sitting upright. Her eyes fell upon the pot she'd stepped into, which lay about ten feet further than it had, when something else near it caught her attention. It was a large burlap sack, presumably for potatoes. Momoko slowly crawled over to it and opened the bag with a smile. She reached it and the moment her hand made contact with something hairy, she yanked her arm back and looked inside.

Her face dropped.

Staring right back at her was Black. One of the panther's eyes had rolled into the back of his head. She screamed at the top of her lungs, and before she knew it Enji and Antonio were there.

"What's wro–" Antonio paused when he saw the panther's severed head poking out of the burlap sack, and then, just like Momoko, he screamed and fell to the floor. "¿Qué demonios?"

Their Nomopads started to ring. Nomokuma's voiced followed shortly thereafter.

"A body's been discovered in the cafeteria... kind of. There won't be a trial for this one, so feel free to not check."

The trio stayed put, none of them moving so much as a muscle for what must've been twenty or thirty minutes before, finally, a few others arrived. Surprisingly, only two people came, those being Ayeka and Kaguya.

As soon as they arrived, they took control of the scene with Kaguya asking where the body was and Ayeka speaking to Enji. "Chiharu and Gin are keeping watch over the Inmates in their cells right now. Would you go give them backup? I can handle things here."

Enji slowly blinked, shifting his gaze from the burlap sack to Ayeka, and then he nodded. At a snail's pace, he left the kitchen and then the cafeteria without making so much as a sound.

Ayeka watched him leave, then turned her attention to Momoko and Antonio shortly thereafter. "So what ha–"

"I already asked them," interjected Kaguya as she made her way towards the open sack. She squatted in front of it and looked inside. The instant she did, she nearly fell on her rear but managed to gather herself in time before standing upright. "Who would do this?" Her arms shook as she clenched her fists.

Ayeka took a peek as well and went pale before shaking her head.

"You can break the news after I investigate this place." Kaguya stared at the Psychologist, who simply nodded after approaching Momoko and Antonio.

"I'll need to talk to you two about this and have you undergo minor evaluations - one right now and the other tomorrow. Is that okay?"

Although her arms were crossed, it looked as if Momoko was trying to hold herself. She trembled, as did Antonio - neither able to look away from the body parts that Kaguya had taken out of the sack.

It took a while, but Antonio finally cleared his throat and turned to Ayeka. "That's fine with me. I... need to talk to somebody..." He paused. "A–About this."

The Fire Breather refused to take her eyes off of the dismembered Black but hummed in agreement. Ayeka escorted them out of the kitchen, leaving Kaguya to investigate on her own, though right as she stepped through the kitchen doors and out into the cafeteria, another couple of people came barging in.

Racing ahead of Claire was none other than Toto.

Everyone froze when they laid eyes on him, not daring to turn around even when Claire passed by. The expressions on each of their faces couldn't have been more different if they tried - Claire didn't have a care in the world; whereas Toto's face was dripping with sweat, and a panicked, feral look was on full display for anyone and everyone to see.

Ayeka didn't have enough time to call out Claire's name as the Etch-a-Sketcher disappeared into the kitchen with Toto. She, Momoko, and Antonio waited outside. The silence was deafening.

And then it came.

"BLACK! BLACK!"

Antonio and Momoko trembled while Ayeka hung and shook her head. She lead the other two out of the cafeteria as Toto's screams echoed throughout the space.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO BLACK?!" he screamed at Kaguya. He kept his distance from the burlap sack, which Black's head poked out of, and marched up the Cop. Tears welled in his eyes, prompting her to rest a hand on his shoulder.

Surprisingly, he didn't brush her hand off. Instead, he held eye-contact with her and listened as she said, "Trust me, I'll find out. For now, take as much time as you need to grieve."

She forced Toto out of the kitchen before he could protest, assuming he would've, and locked the doors so that only she and Claire were inside.

"Are you suuuuuure?"

Kaguya glanced over her shoulder, locking her sights on the Etch-a-Sketcher.

"I mean, it's, like, suuuuuper hard to find the cool-print when there're a bunch of us."

"It's _culprit_ , not 'cool-print,' and I don't care if it's hard or not. Someone killed an innocent animal."

Claire held her bandaged hand up and poked Black's rolled back eye with the other. "So this makes him innocent? It's a gooooood thing you're not the Ultimate Judge, Kaguya."

The Cop hesitated for a moment, bringing her hand up to her chin. "That's fair, but he was only an animal. Holding them to the same standards as humans isn't."

While Kaguya spoke, Claire continued to poke each part of Black's body. Her focus was solely on the deceased panther, it seemed. "Hey, if Black killed somebody, would Toto get in trouble for that?"

"What?"

"Y'know, the rules said when somebody kills there's a trial a little bit after. If Black killed someone, then does Toto get away with it?" She pulled her hand away from the panther and turned around to lock eyes with Kaguya.

The aforementioned Ultimate stared at Claire for quite a while before finally speaking. "That's _the_ smartest thing you've said."

Claire flashed a bright smile as she returned to poking Black, leaving Kaguya to her thoughts.

* * *

 **Day Four, 6:02 A.M.**

 **Inmates' Residence, Southwest Wing**

 **Basement**

 **Factory**

"I would almost prefer death to running," Fay remarked between gasps for air, her hands on her knees. "Consider me waking you up my last courteous act while we're trapped here, Matador."

Antonio slammed his hand against his chest. "I'll make it up to you! I'll do all of your chores!"

Fay turned to Ayeka. "Is that even allowed?"

"Surprisingly, it is. So long as your work is completed, there will be no repercussions."

"If that's the case, I suppose that must mean Nomokuma wants some kind of resentment built up even within each group," muttered Siyana as she brought her right hand to her chin. "Whether or not I tell the others about this imbalance of work doesn't matter since Ayeka is a member of the Guard group."

"I won't tell a soul," the aforementioned Ultimate said. "Despite my interest in the human mind, I'm not fond of murder."

Fay rolled her eyes as she stepped away from the door, granting Ayeka the ability to unlock it. "On a separate note, Frances informed us that Toto isn't exactly in the best of places mentally. Have any of the other guards done something to keep him from acting out?"

Ayeka shrugged.

"You're… you're kidding, right?" Antonio asked.

She shook her head. "Gin, Toto, and I go about our days independent of everyone unless we're discussing our shifts. Claire, Chiharu, and Enji are who you should approach."

The Matador scoffed. "As someone who's grouped with the guy, you should keep up on him more."

Ayeka raised an eyebrow.

"To be fair, Antonio, have you established and maintained contact with everyone who is an inmate?" Siyana retorted.

He paused for a moment and crossed his arms as his face turned red.

"W–Well… no, but-"

"'But there are more of us than there are them.' That's what you were about to say, right?"

Antonio looked at Fay, sighed, and nodded.

"It's best to not start, or engage in petty squabbles like that. In all likelihood, the guards are primarily concerned with keeping us in-line, meaning communication between them is secondary."

"Okay okay, I get it. Can we please go inside now? I need time to do your work, after all."

Ayeka moved to unlock the door for the inmates, but as soon as she did, a school-like chime came through the intercom - as well as the others, presumably.

 _Ding-Dong Bing-Bong!_

"It's about damn time. A body has been discovered North of the Inmates' cells on the second floor! I'll give you some time to investigate before our first trial!" Nomokuma exclaimed.

She dropped the key. Chills ran up her spine. Someone had been killed? As if. This was probably another method to get everyone freaked out and in an emotional frame of mind. If it was, it worked.

"S–S… Someone's dead?" Antonio stumbled back until he was leaning against the wall, then he placed his hand on his forehead and began to hyperventilate.

Fay rolled her eyes. "We don't know for sure yet. This could be an elaborate ruse."

That confirmed Ayeka's suspicions.

"Even so, I believe we should all check, regardless. Not doing so could prove to do more harm."

"Fair enough." Fay cracked her knuckles from inside her hoodie's pockets. "You lead the way since you have your Nomopad," she said, eyeing the Psychologist.

Ayeka nodded, took out her tablet, and pulled up the penitentiary's interactive map. There was a huge red dot in the hallway to the north of everyone's cells, plus a route for her and the others to take in order to get there as quickly as possible.

Antonio cleared his throat. "Hold on a second. Why should we waste our time checking that out when someone else will? Let's stay here and do our work, and if it is real, then we can go."

"That _does_ make more sense. What do you think?" Siyana gestured towards Fay.

"It does, but Nomokuma hasn't given us any reason to doubt him, has he? There's still no harm done in visiting the site for a few minutes, given we have all day to manufacture those toys."

"Very well, then. Ayeka, would you please take us there?"

The Psychologist nodded, heading in the opposite direction of the factory and up the stairs. They made their way down a single hallway that lead them to the Inmates Cells, passed the rightmost cell on the first floor, and continued East.

"So… if someone _is_ dead, who do you think it might be?" Ayeka inquired.

Siyana shot the Psychologist a disgusted look from behind her gas mask. "Don't you think that's an inappropriate thing to a–"

"I'll bet it's the Lion Tamer," Fay interjected. "Or Claire."

"How about _no one_?! Why are you acting so casually about one of the others potentially being dead?" The Matador looked back and forth between Fay and Ayeka.

Fay stopped to face him and rolled her eyes. "Did you _not_ listen to Siyana? Nomokuma has given us no reason to believe he'd lie, and frankly, it wouldn't be a shock if someone snapped and killed one of those idiots."

"With Black out of the picture, it would not prove difficult to kill Toto," Siyana muttered to herself as she continued to follow Ayeka.

"Exactly." The 3-D Printer rolled her eyes. "Think about what you want to say before speaking lest you bother us with your idiocy, Matador." After glancing at Antonio, Fay made a mental note to never speak to him again, barring unforeseen circumstances of utmost importance.

Antonio did the same, albeit more subtly than his eye-rolling fellow Ultimate. However, rather than swear off all forms of communication with her, he only put a temporary moratorium on it - which was to last as long as his current state of frustration. Once it passed, he'd engage her again in a different manner. After all, successful communication was a necessity given their current circumstances.

Before he knew it, he and the girls had arrived in a four-story area of cells with iron bars rather than bank safes for doors, such as the ones he and the other inmates had for their cells. It looked as if everyone else had arrived, Guards and Inmates alike, and they were gathered around the back right cell on the first floor.

The quartet hurried over, ignoring all glances and "greetings" - if you could call them that - cast their way to see someone inside the cell. His throat was slashed open cleanly, and he was laying in a pool of blood. His blood.

It was Toto.

* * *

 **17 Inmates Remain**

* * *

 **So I've finally updated, and we finally have our first victim (or victims, I suppose) in this Killing Game, which means the investigation's coming up next, then a trial afterwards! I'll keep this a/n short, so thanks for taking the time to read and review!**

 **HoppsHungerfan:** _Glad to hear you feel that way. My Spanish is rusty as hell so I had to look up a few words here and there, but that was a lot of fun to write, lol. Thanks for the compliment, means a lot!_

 **BouncingFish:** _Thanks! I wasn't sure if the details were sufficient or not, so that's a relief. Kaguya's like the one person on Survivor every season who goes ham at first, which makes things more interesting for me. Her scene with Antonio was spur of the moment, actually. You were right about Claire bouncing back. Thanks for the kind words and review!_

 **dougcupcake** : _I agree, I needed to show Kaguya in a different light. That just so happened to come with Antonio not flirting which, like you said, made him more likable. Happy to hear you're warming up to Dulcinea, because I did a terrible, terrible job of handling her at first. Claire and Momoko are nuts, and also a ton of fun to write scenes for, lol. Thanks for the review!_

 **Abitat Eco:** _Thanks for understanding Frances' absence last chapter. Hopefully the screen time she got in this one makes up for that. Toto was incredibly dangerous thanks to Black being there, like you said (and why I had him die first); Ayeka's one of my many favorites too, lol; I feel really bad for Enji - his temperament doesn't fit with a Killing Game. Thanks for the review!_


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